Joey Votto hung up his spikes:

The 40-year-old made the announcement as part of a social media post Wednesday night.

“I was myself in this sport. I was able to be my best self,” he wrote. “I played this sport with every last ounce of my body, heart, and mind. Thank you for everything.”

ESPN.com

Votto produced a very long peak, and it’s a tough call as to the start and the end. There is an eleven year stretch from 2008 to 2018, bookended by 3.x fWAR seasons in which he slashed .311/.428/.529. You can take off the bookends and get a nine-year stretch from 2009 to 2017 in which he hit .315/.436/.544. Either way, it’s pretty amazing.

Note that during the nine-year peak his BABIP came in at .357. If Votto had brought down his K rate, he might have matched Miguel Cabrera in winning a triple crown.

FanGraphs gives him 58.8 WAR, which seems to put him just outside the Hall of Fame. He did win an MVP, but hit poorly in the post season. Another MVP or carrying his team to a World Championship might have made the difference.