Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto may have to put a donkey where his mouth is.
Zack Cozart, Cincinnati’s shortstop and Votto’s teammate, is in the midst of a career year, batting .324 with a .968 OPS through 63 games (good for 10th and ninth in the league, respectively). He’s playing so well that he moved to the top of the All-Star voting for National League shortstops earlier this week, passing reigning Rookie of the Year Corey Seager.
Here is the latest National League balloting update for the 2017 @AllStarGame. Vote now at https://t.co/qd5OOxn7EDpic.twitter.com/GCmAsZTjMl
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 12, 2017
If voting holds, not only would Cozart make his first trip to the midsummer classic, he may also be rewarded with an odd new pet. Votto, ever the comedian, offered to buy Cozart a donkey if he makes the team.
Yes, you read that correctly — Cozart is apparently a big fan of the “ass.”
“I don’t know why I like donkeys so much, maybe because they look like they’re real chill,” he told MLB Network Radio last week.
“About a mile away from our spring training facility in Arizona, there’s a donkey farm where you can feed the donkeys. Old Jo-Vo was like, ‘You make the All-Star team, I’m going to get you a donkey.'”
Time will tell if Votto is joking, or if Cozart maintains his lead in the All-Star voting. But according to Cozart, Votto is nothing if not a man of his word.
“If anybody knows Joey, I do,” Cozart said. “And if [making the All-Star team] happens, he’s going to show up with a donkey somehow.”
If Votto doesn’t want to buy an actual farmhouse animal, he could instead bring back “The Big Donkey,” otherwise known as former Reds slugger Adam Dunn.
