Elliott: Votto takes the keg at the Keg
Brent Barker (Napenee, Ont.) and Reds 1B Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) at The Keg in Oshawa.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Jerry O’Hearn and Brent Barker were seated at the bar of The Keg in Oshawa the other night.
They are winning a war against a steak when a bearded man approached.
Barker of Napanee was wearing his son’s 15U 222 Fast Pitch softball jersey. It was the hoodie which caught the attention of the bearded man.
O’Hearn of Oshawa tells how it unfolded: “This man walks over and says ‘Sorry to intrude ...’ and the whole time I’m thinking I recognize the guy. He asked about Brent’s shirt and told us when he was in the minors.”
O’Hearn asked, “You played in the minors? What do you do now? Do you coach? Are you still in the minors?”
The bearded man said, “Well, I’m in the majors.”
“The majors?” asked O’Hearn. “I’m Jerry.”
“I’m Joey,” said Joseph Votto, the Cincinnati Reds first baseman. “I don’t mean to bother you but where did you get the hoodie. Where can I order one?”
The 222’s Fastpitch team has had a storied past. Founded by Dean Holoien and Keith Mackintosh they were the top dawgs in Fastpitch Softball in the 1960s. In 1967, the local senior team in Melfort, Sask., changed its name to the 222’s. The name was the idea of new sponsor Bill Frost, the local druggist in Melfort. As Frost used to say a lot of nights, “the team was a headache.”
Barker told the same story as O’Hearn. How Votto noticed his hoddie, was very humble when he came over and apologized for interrupting their meal.
“I kind of heard his name when he introduced himself, but it was loud,” Barker said. “We asked where do you play? He said ‘Ohio ... since 2007.’ We asked what he did and he said “I play a little bit of first and field a little.’”
Barker’s son, Brandon Barker pitched and played outfield for the 222s, which is made up of nine Ontario players, with the rest of the team from the west. The Canucks 15U teams just returned from a tour of New Zealand, where the Canucks went 22-0 against New Zealand teams at the 15U, 17U and 18U teams.
Meanwhile, Barker told Votto how his older son Robbie Barker, had been cut by Team Canada. Barker said Votto told him to tell his son to “to shrug it off and keep coming.”
“We had a positive talk, it was more about the mental side of the game,” Barker. “He’s down to earth. He’s just a dude.”
Being starstruck O’Hearn said to Votto: “Wow, My son was given a broken bat of yours by his coach Rick Johnston.”
Votto answered “I know Rick, tell him I said hello.”
O’Hearn knew something strange was up when they asked for the bill. “Next thing you know our tab had been paid. I’ll tell you ... he was a pretty decent guy, very shy, very polite.”
O’Hearn said he was starstruck after meeting Votto, but what blew him away was “how gentlemanly he was.”
After leaving the table, where Votto was dining with one of his three brothers Paul, Barker decided to email Dean Holoien in Regina to ask about if there were any 222s hoodies left. He told him he was beside “someone special, Votto.
“Ya right,” replied Holoien.
After emailing a picture to Regina, Barker asked “Believe me now?” Barker returned to Votto’s table, but he had already found the 222s website.
“Some superstars think that they are larger than life, this guy is down to earth,” Barker said.
O’Hearn described the encounter as “a pretty exciting two minutes for me. “I’ve been coached on how to act around famous people. I didn’t bother Joey, but Brent went over and sat at the table for 10 minutes, talked baseball and basketball with him. He was very gracious.”