Doc: Think you have Joey Votto figured out? You have no idea.

GOODYEAR, AZ – The baseball player whose statistics are redefining how we identify hitting greatness never looks at his statistics. Between Opening Day and October, a Tibetan monk has a better chance of knowing Joey Votto’s numbers than Joey Votto does.

“It’s too stressful,’’ he says.

He’d love it if ballpark video-board operators didn’t post his stats when he came to the plate. “Drives me crazy,’’ he allows. He doesn’t read about himself or watch ESPN about himself because he knows the media will dwell on his numbers.

“I don’t ever want the numbers to give me a ceiling (or) give me a false sense of comfort. Like I’ve made it. The numbers are a reflection of the immediate past. If I’m looking at the past, I’m not seeing the present,’’ says Votto.

Well.

Every time we think we have Joey Votto kinda figured out, he shows us we have no idea. None whatsoever. A long-time believer in analytics, who doesn’t even look at his numbers for six months?

Votto is the best, an all-timer, at staying in The Big 162 bubble. He owns the insecurity that can drive greatness; self-torture is standard for perfectionists. Yet he has abundant self-confidence not to judge himself by any small stretch of futility. He knows that an aging star makes as many adjustments as a promising rookie. Not to what pitchers are trying to do to get him out; inner adjustments that acknowledge his creeping physical limitations.

Related: Reds' Joey Votto rejects the vocal leader role, leads by example

Watch: Votto proposes Gym Day With Jim Day

Votto knows the parameters his age (35 in September) inevitably will place on his game. He knows, too, how to outthink Father Time.

He admires those who have done that best: Floyd Mayweather. Tom Brady. Because Votto is curious and meticulous, he studies them. “You watch Floyd Mayweather fight,’’ Votto says. “He’s not as good as he was at 30 or 25, In terms of sheer athleticism, quickness, knockout power. But then you watch how technical he is, his gamesmanship. He takes his time, catches his breath. There’s never a panic. After a while, you know when to just chill out.’’

Of Brady, Votto says, “He probably doesn’t release the ball as quickly or as accurately as he once did. It doesn’t mean he can’t shoot out super-accurate 5- to 15-yard throws and be just as successful.’’

More: Joey Votto talks approach, feedback with MLB Network

And yet...

“Two years ago, I was hitting .200 in June,’’ Votto recalls. “I had nine years (in the big leagues) or whatever, X number of dollars to go’’ on his contract. “I legitimately thought I was going to be sent down’’ to the minor leagues.

What?

"I thought they might send me down for a week or two, to get right.’’

Well, they didn’t. They allowed the best hitter of his time to figure it out in the big leagues. Votto had one of the best halves of a season in baseball history. On May 29, 2016, he was hitting .207. He finished at .326. He hit .408 after the all-star break.

It can take a little distrust of success doubt to fuel all that belief. “I’m a firm believer you have to play with a fight-or-flight state of mind. You have to be cornered,’’ Votto says. “You have to be desperate.

“I don’t want to be calm. I want to use that feeling of being cornered.’’

Sometimes, when his personal notion of hitting perfection eludes him, Votto will retreat after a game to the batting cage adjacent to the Reds home clubhouse. He’ll hit until midnight. Then he’ll get in his car to drive home, and start screaming.

“In a rage,’’ he says. “At the very top of my being. YOU HAVE TO GET GOING!’’

More: Joey Votto on 2018 season: 'Something needs to start changing'

At 33 last year, Votto put together a remarkably good season, one even he acknowledged was his best. He is 1 or 1A as Best Hitter of His Time. If you ask Votto, he’s decidedly 1A, behind Mike Trout. If you ask most everyone else, he’s 1. When he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame, five years after his retirement, Votto will represent a fascinating test case.

Votto’s career is on the crest of the new wave of thinking. Some of the old reliables don’t apply. Votto won’t hit 500 home runs, he won’t have 3,000 hits. Judging his Hall-worthiness will require voters to see the quality of Votto’s career, not the quantity of its numbers. Valued new-school numbers such as on-base percentage, wins above replacement and something called OPS-plus will have to be considered.

And as Votto suggests, “(Sandy) Koufax didn’t play very long. We’ll see.’’

Not that Votto has given the Hall a lot of thought. You wouldn’t expect that from someone who worried about being demoted two years ago, who doesn’t look at his stats until after a year is done. As for the stats...

He looked at his 2017 numbers the day after the season, “to decide whether the effort matched the performance level.’’ He says the numbers were a revelation: “I said, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s something. I might win the MVP this year. Giancarlo (Stanton) and I are very close.’ I didn’t know by a lot of different metrics that I was the best offensive player in the league.’’

That gets us to now, when the best hitter of his generation has to step up and do it all over again. “There is some dread,’’ he says.

“I know how difficult a successful season is, what it looks like, and how frustrated and angry I get when I come up short of my expectations. But then once I ‘m back in the mix and working, I think it’s great. I wouldn’t have it any other way.’’

Get the latest Reds news. Download our app.