Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto apologized to a fan by taking a photo with him and signing a baseball with a personalized message during Tuesday night's game against St. Louis.
The incident happened in the seventh inning as Cardinals batter Stephen Piscotty hit a foul ball towards the edge of the first base stands. Votto had a bead on it, but a Reds fan in the front row tried to catch the ball himself with his bare hands. As the ball was coming down, the fan leaned his hands towards Votto and bumped his arm, causing him to drop the ball.
The fan quickly realized that he probably should have gotten out of the way, and you could see he felt bad about his interference on the play. Votto expressed his anger by staring him down and grabbing his Reds shirt, possibly questioning whether he was really a Reds fan.
However, after taking some time to think about it, Votto realized that he may have been a little harsh with the fan. During a pitching change in the bottom of the eighth, Votto took a baseball and wrote a personalized note on it for the fan. Votto gave the baseball to the fan as he came out to the field for the top of the ninth and took a photo with him.
The message on the baseball read: "Thanks for being so understanding when I acted out of character. - Joey Votto"
Kudos to Votto for making amends with the fan.
[MLB]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
