Joey Votto knew he was in the wrong and wanted to do something about it.
The Cincinnati Reds star first baseman was leaning into the stands in an attempt to catch a foul ball Tuesday night against St. Louis, at the Great American Ball Park. A Reds fan had a similar idea, and the two men bumped into each other with neither one coming up with the ball.
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In frustration, Votto pulled on a piece of the fan’s Reds T-shirt, as if to remind the guy of who he’s supposed to be rooting for. Almost instantly, however, Votto regretted the incident.
“First of all I should have made the catch regardless,” Votto said after Cincinnati’s 7-5 victory over the Cardinals. “He stayed in the stands, I crossed the boundaries and touched his shirt. I felt really bad about it afterwards.”
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So during a pitching change, Votto grabbed a ball, wrote a quick note on it — “Thanks for being so understanding when I acted out of character” — signed it and gave it to the fan. He also posed for a quick smartphone photo with the man.
“He was generous enough to apologize at the time and afterwards,” Votto said. “In retrospect, he’s not the one who should be apologizing. I should be apologizing. He’s just trying to catch a ball and here I am bullying him.”
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