Joey Votto was born in Canada, but he really doesn’t care too much about being Canadian. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

If Joey Votto isn’t the greatest Canadian ever to play baseball, he’s certainly one of them.

The Cincinnati Reds superstar, who has long been considered one of the best players in Major League Baseball, has provided up-and-comers from north of the border with a solid blueprint for success. But the Toronto-born All-Star apparently couldn’t care any less about Canadian baseball.

Appearing on the Yahoo! Sports MLB Podcast, Votto told Mike Oz, Jeff Passan and Tim Brown that he’s not concerned at all about baseball in Canada.

“I don’t care almost at all about Canadian baseball,” the Reds first baseman stated. “I wasn’t raised inside of Canadian baseball really […] I’m coming up on half of my life being in the United States working and being supported by American baseball.”

It’s a rather shocking response from Votto, considering that he represented Canada in both the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics. But the former NL MVP wasn’t done there.

He went on to explain his feelings towards Canada’s James Paxton tossing a no-hitter for the Mariners on Canadian soil.

“As far as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada, and [James Paxton] being Canadian, I don’t care at all,” Votto clarified. “[Paxton], or the Jays, or Canada, in general, may disagree with that, but I really couldn’t give a rats a** about that.”

Votto did go on to say that he is happy for Paxton as a fellow ball player, and that he enjoys players when they’re celebrated for their incredible achievements. But the “he did it on Canadian soil” storyline is obviously not striking a chord with Votto.

More baseball coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports:



