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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2011 > July > 03
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Bruce, Votto, Phillips are ALL-STARS
CINCINNATI — Joey Votto was seated at his dressing cubicle, two lockers down from outfielder Jay Bruce in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse, when somebody asked him, “Where’s Bruce?”
Votto flashed that quick impish grin he displays when he is about to say something kiddingly and said, “He is in a back room somewhere pulling a Dirk Nowitzke.”
And nobody would be surprised if Bruce did shed a few tears of joy after he was told by manager Dusty Baker, “You made the All-Star team.”
Joining Bruce from the Reds are first baseman Votto and second baseman Brandon Phillips, both of whom made the team last year. All three were voted in by the players and coaches. The fans voted first baseman Prince Fielder, second baseman Rickey Weeks and outfielders Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman and Matt Kemp and they’ll be the starters.
For Bruce, it is a first-time event, and somewhat surprising.
Manager Dusty Baker called the 24-year-old Texan into his office Sunday morning and laid it right out there: “You made the All-Star team.”
Said Bruce, “Are you serious?”
Later, he told the media, “Yeah, I was shocked. It’s my first All-Star team. It’s not really real until you get told.”
Votto said he was more happy that Bruce made it than he was over his own selection.
“Ah, man, I was so happy for him because he had such a great month and had so many doggone home runs that I thought he should get in there.”
Although Bruce struggled mightily in June, he was National League Player of the Month for May when he .342 with 12 homers and 33 RBI.
“He definitely wanted me to make it because we are teammates and friends,” said Bruce about Votto’s reaction. “What is really, really special is to be voted by the players and the coaches.
“It looked like, for the most part, the fans were getting it right in voting the starters,” Bruce added. “But to be voted in by the players and the coaches, guys you play against and in front of every day, there is something special to that.
“Mainly I just want to be respected by the players because everybody up here has talent,” he said. “The way you go about your business and the professionalism you exude is a big part of how players and coaches see you and there is a respect level there. And that’s my goal.
“At the end of your career, other players won’t remember how many All-Star teams you made or how many home runs you hit, they’ll remember what type of guy you are. I want to be well-respected and well-liked,” said Bruce.
Votto was the last player to make it last season, the supplemental player voted in by the fans in a special after-the-fact ballot during which his teammates put on a campaign, wearing red t-shirts during batting practice that said, “Vote Votto.”
This time the players put him on the team.
“To be voted in by our peers, well, in my opinion, that means a lot,” he said. With guys like Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder playing first base in the National League, it’s a tough spot to be recognized.
“Yeah, it is definitely an honor to be picked to go to the All-Star game when the position is such a prime spot,” said the 27-year-old Canadian who was National League Most Valuable Player last year and Canadian Athlete of the Year.
Of the difference in the way he made the team this year, Votto smiled and said, “It’ll be nice not to have to wear tee-shirts. But on the background of my iPad I have a picture of me and six or seven teammates wearing the Vote Votto tee-shirts. In that instance, I learned a lot about teammates and what this team is about and friendship. In the long run, the Vote Votto by my teammates and the fan vote was best for me.”
Phillips said his selection is a reward, “A reward for just going out there and playing the game I love and having a good time.”
Phillips said he never watched the All-Star game as a kid, “Because I was more into football and basketball and wasn’t much into baseball.”
Of his selection, Phillips echoed what Bruce and Votto said about how he made it, although Phillips was somewhat taken aback because his style of play, some call it hot doggery, doesn’t lend itself to popularity among his peers.
“Just being voted in by the players, that right there, is very unexpected by me, but it sure is an honor that they recognized my play, so for them to vote for me, I think they very much. Being voted by the players really meant a lot.”
Baker told each player separately and said Votto and Phillips took it in stride, but smiled and said, “It was much to his surprise when I told Bruce. His eyes lit up. All three were voted in by the players, which I think is the most respectful. The players have a different appreciation for All-Stars. I love it that Jay made it because he was like a little kid when I told him.
“Now they can go to the game with that feeling of being All-Stars and they can come back and give the rest of the team that same feeling,” said Baker. “And they can assume more leadership roles because of the accolades they’ve received.”
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