"The chief reason Joey Votto developed into an MVP type of player is something that neither scouts nor sabermetricians can measure.

Scouts can tell Votto had the hand-eye coordination and bat speed to be a great hitter. They can tell he's athletic for a first baseman. They can tell about his foot speed and arm strength.

Sabermetric students can point to Votto's impressive numbers his first two years, his outstanding on-base-plus slugging percentage.

What neither could measure was that Votto would take the next step and go from very, very good to the best player in the league.

If you're around Votto on a daily basis, you can see how Votto was able to do that. He is as driven as a player can be.

The rap on Votto in the minors – and it was a legitimate one – was he was weak defensively. He spent hour after hour working on defense last offseason. The result? He's an above-average defender.

"I'm lucky because I live down here (in Florida) and there are several baseball people to work with," Votto said. "One of them is Ryan Jackson – he's our Double-A hitting coach – he's a former first baseman and a very good first baseman. We make a point four or five or six days a week with defensive stuff, anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours."