The 2014 Cincinnati Reds were loaded with variables, but none bigger than their former MVP Joey Votto. After playing just 62 games last season, Votto uncharacteristically slashed .255/.390/.409 before spending the rest of the year on the disabled list and becoming the catalyst of the OBP vs. RBI conversation."A big comeback year" will be interpreted differently. Tea-Martyists will only be content if Votto manages 25-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI. Anything less would be a poor allocation of payroll to many in this camp.In my opinion, that ceiling isn't high enough for a player the caliber of Votto. Take Votto's 2013 season, a season in which he was undoubtedly still plagued by issues surrounding his knee yet still slashed .305/.435/.491. He hit 24 home runs and drove in 73 RBIby all measures a good year, yet it somehow failed to meet the standards of many critics.More important than 24 home runs and 73 RBI was the fact that in 2013, Joey Votto led the entire National League in runs created (RC). For those who see RC and still think cola, RC is infinitely more valuable than traditional hitting stats like RBI because it attempts to measure a player's total contribution to a team's total run contribution, not just how a hitter performed during opportune times.Baseball considered RC worthy tooVotto finished No. 6 in MVP voting that season.Which brings us to 2015. I like Votto to return and contribute in a big way. The following is a short-stack list of reasons why:Time Heals All WoundsOn July 16, 2012, the Reds announced that Votto would need arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee; he was expected to miss three to four weeks. Considering that the area surrounding this knee has been an issue ever since, it's likely they meant three to four years.Whatever the case, a lot more time has passed. It doesn't take an M.D. to feel confident about the amount of time Votto has had to recover, it just takes one to say anything moresubstantivethanthat. And while hedidn't participate in the Reds' first spring training game, the majority of reports surrounding Votto's recovery areoverwhelminglypositive.When asked about how Votto looked before spring training, Bryan Price told Joe Kay of the Associated Press, via The Globe and Mail:His strength was outstanding and the stamina was good, Price said. So were just looking at him hitting the ground running when Joey gets out to Goodyear and see with our own eyes where were at. But were confident hes going to be ready to go.2) 4 Straight All-Star Games / MVP Voting (at fraction of strength)Words are stock seldom worthy of investment, and it's not like Price is going to tell the world his star is still ailing. But until we're given countering evidence, we can only proceed using the information at our disposal.In explanation of his early spring training absence, Votto told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Cincinnati Enquirer:I feel really, really good. I'm surprised at how good I feel this early," Votto said. "I feel like I'm trending toward being able to play games here in the not too distant future. I do feel like I need a little more time, but the time is not a byproduct of avoiding games or not being ready when I need to be ready. It's just to make sure that after taking eight months, 10 months, however long off of baseball, I have to play the game a little bit more to get ready to get the volume in and get the reps it."Overall Roster HealthNot only is Votto's own health a reason he'll make a big comeback, but the health of his teammates is also going to make an enormous difference, especially to those who value his weight in RBI.The Reds finished with a team OBP of .296. Only one other team in the sport finished with a worse OBP that that. NASA's Curiosity probably reached more mountainbases on Mars in 2014.There are plenty of reasons why this happened. The Reds didn't hit (No. 2 worst-hitting team in baseball), but they didn't walk, either. The Reds finished an NL third-worst in BB and fifth-worst in the sport.But what else happens in a year marred by that much injury' Brayan Pena, Ramon Santiago, Chris Heisey, Kristopher Negron, Skip Schumakerall fine options off the bench, but how many games featured lineups including most, if not all of these players'At the risk of beating a dead horse, with better health, the Reds are obviously better, because their starters are quality MLB starters. Joey Votto's addition clearly improves the team, but Jay Bruce's recovery following his worst professional year of baseball in seven seasons, Devin Mesoraco's increased usage in the daily lineup, the addition of Marlon Byrd and a more experienced Billy Hamilton, mixed with the .273/.336/.459 slashing line of All-Star Todd Frazier...look, I'm not cold-call selling here, I'm only stating what everyone already knows.Votto doesn't mind taking a walk, which is somehow polarizing. But what happens when hestarts coming to the plate with bases full of Reds' In 2014, Votto saw 107 plate appearances with runners on in the 62 games he played. A whopping 40 percent of those appearances featured a two-out runner on first scenario.In 2013, he had 332 plate appearances with men on base in 162 games played. Just 99 of them occurred with two outs and a man on first, not even a third of his appearances with runners on base.It's no secret why Votto gets so many walkshe's really good. And in 2014, considering 40 percent of all of hisappearances with runners on base came with two outs and a man on first, why wouldn't pitchers pitch around him' Any third out that's not Votto is an easier third out when facing the Reds.Joey Votto is really good at baseballMore than either of the previous two reasons to expect a big comeback year from Votto is the basic fact that heis just really good. Hiscontract now commands more focus than his production, which is somewhat unfair considering how instrumental Votto has been in any degree of success experienced by the Reds.Slashing a career .310/.417/.533 in six near-full seasons (but eight years to be fair) lands that kind of contract, especially if you have an MVP trophy that needs dusting every now and then.More than that though, what many people never mention is the fact that hefinished in the top six of MVP voting in both 2011 and 2013. That means prior to last year's disaster, baseball writers considered just five other players in the game more valuable than Votto.Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman is openly critical of Joey Votto's approach to hitting. Meanwhile, according to The New York Times, other MLB players are openly emulating it (h/tHardball Talk). In 2015, Reds fans are hoping the team creates more runs. Coincidentally, the NL's No. 1 run-creator from 2013 is supposedly healthy again. Lucky them.Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise
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