Canadian's career to inspire generations'

Once upon a time, the World Baseball Classic came to Toronto, and Joey Votto was front-and-centre for Team Canada when the tournament was played in his backyard.

- MIKE WILNER

Joey Votto — a six-time all-star, gold glove winner and 2010 National League MVP — is a lock to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and he’ll likely become the third Canadian player inducted into Cooperstown as well, Gregor Chisholm writes.

Rogers Centre was the host to Pool C of the 2009 WBC, the first and only time baseball’s premier international tournament was played on Canadian soil. The opening game pitted Canada against the U.S., a rematch of the 2006 affair that saw the Canadians pull off an upset with an 8-6 win in Phoenix.

Over two World Baseball Classics, Joey Votto hit .389 with a 1.264 OPS while wearing the red and white.

Votto, who announced his retirement on Wednesday, was still in AA in 2006, but in ‘09 the Etobicoke native was coming off a year in which he finished second in National League rookie of the year voting to Chicago Cubs’ catcher Geovany Soto.