Reds' Votto: 'The RBIs, I'm sorry, it doesn't bother me. It really doesn't'

Reds first baseman Joe Votto finished the season having walked a MLB-high and career-high 135 times. He posted a .435 on-base percentage, best in the National League. It's the fifth-straight year he's finished with an OBP north of .400.

Yet there are monsters among us who complain about Votto's production -- who can't live with the fact Votto, who played all 162 games for the Reds in 2013, drove in only 73 runs.

Well, you know what? Joey Votto doesn't care. Joey Votto doesn't have time for people who can't appreciate his on-base percentage. Sure, Votto would like to hit more home runs, and drive in more runs. Of course he would. But he won't try to do that at the expense of making outs. Because Joey Votto refuses to make outs. He could make outs. He simply chooses not to.

Votto gets it, reports FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. His 30 doubles were a career low. His .491 slugging percentage was a career low. His 24 home runs and 73 RBI were a career low over a full season. "I notice it," Votto said.

He added:

"I’ve compensated for it by getting on base and by playing every day, but it’s been frustrating, no doubt about it, frustrating not driving the ball.

The money quote:

"The RBIs, I'm sorry, it doesn't bother me. It really doesn't. It just doesn't."

As Rosenthal points out, the low RBI total isn't all Votto's fault. He bats third in the Cincinnati lineup, and the Reds finished with a .632 OPS from the second spot in their batting order, good for 28th in all of baseball, and 14th in the National League.

The bottom line: if you're upset with Joey Votto's production, you really need to find something else to be upset about. And you've got a lot of options, from the U.S. government shutting down, to global warming, to the fact Guantanamo Bay is still open. Pick your poison. But don't pick on Votto.

Crazy pants, indeed.