When Joey Votto appeared on the Yahoo! Sports MLB podcast, he voiced the frustration of a player who has spent 17 years with the Cincinnati Reds franchise, and just endured the worst start in team history.
But late Tuesday, Votto walked back those remarks.
After giving an interview critical of both his team and country, Votto apologized for what he said in an email he wrote to the Canadian Baseball Network.
Votto was asked a number of questions, including one about the no-hitter recently thrown by Mariners starter and BC native James Paxton.
"I am not sure how I could have been so ridiculously selfish and short-sighted in my reply," he later wrote.
Votto went on to say that the tone of his comments came out of place of former frustration.
"When asked about baseball in Canada, the Blue Jays and specifically this event, it took me back to the times and my resentment for not making Team Canada in high school, not being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school, or not being picked for the Olympic team while in the minor leagues," he wrote. " ...I’ve won multiple Lou Marsh awards and several Tip O’Neil awards (seven). Each of them I stage proudly in my house next to my major league baseball awards. I go back to Toronto each off season and feel renewed every time I cross the border to my home and native land."
Just this past year, Votto collected both the Tip O'Neill Award (Votto's seventh), given annually to Canada's top baseball player, and the Lou Marsh Award (his second) awared to Canada's top athlete.
"As I write this I am saddened that I was so flagrant with my remarks and more importantly that I offended so many people that mean so much to me," Votto said. "I would not be where I am now without the efforts of so many Canadian baseball people and the fans of Canadian baseball."
The Reds 3-18 start to this season was the worst in franchise history. It also sparked Votto saying, " ... this is the worst start I’ve ever seen. ... There are so many people that are losing interest in our organization — and deservedly so. It hasn’t been a fun time to be a Cincinnati Reds fan.”
Cincinnati did just see a six-game winning streak snapped, but still have the worst record in the National League.
The Toronto native struck a Canadian chord though with his comments about his country, saying that "I don’t care almost at all about Canadian baseball," and, "I really couldn’t give a rats a— about that," in regards to Paxton's recent no-hitter.
In an interview with MLB.com, Votto also walked back his comments about the Reds.