Any time Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds is mic’d up during a game, you can expect great things to happen. Such was the case on Thursday night during the Field of Dreams game when Votto told a story about Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
How Pete Alonso of the New York Mets once tried to lighten the mood for Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds
As the third inning of the 2022 Field of Dreams game was unfolding, Joey Votto (who shared some great social media moments leading up to the game in Dyersville, Iowa) was carrying on a conversation with the FOX Sports broadcasters while manning first base. As Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs reached first base on a walk, the conversation from the booth turned to some of the conversations that Votto has had over the years with opposing players who have been on first base while he has guarded the bag.
Votto joked for a moment about Contreras being “grumpy” while on first with him, then listed off Anthony Rizzo of the New York Yankees and Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers as fellow MLB players who he has shared a positive moment or two with at first. He also went on to talk about the time Alonso (who Votto said was “as positive as it gets”) tried to cheer up Votto who was “fuming” after mishitting a ball but still getting an RBI out of it.
“You gotta look on the bright side,” Votto chuckled about Alonso’s advice as he told the story.
The entire 10-plus minute clip is below, with Contreras reaching base at the 2:00 mark and the segment about first base conversations starting from there.
While there may be plenty of magic in the corn that surrounded the Field of Dreams game on Thursday night, Votto reminded us all that magic moments between MLB players happen all of the team, even when we as fans can’t hear them.