'You almost had me crying': Canada's Votto overwhelmed by ovation in potential home finale with Reds

If Sunday's 4-2 win over Pittsburgh was the final home game for Joey Votto as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, it's hard to imagine a better sendoff for the potential Hall of Famer.

Before his first at-bat, the popular first baseman received a standing ovation, the first of many gestures from a crowd of 31,191 at sun-splashed Great American Ball Park.

The 16-year veteran major leaguer stepped out of the batter's box and raised his helmet to the crowd, which stood chanting "Joey! Joey!"

"You almost had me crying," Votto, who hails from the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, Ont., told fans and Bally Sports Cincinnati after the game. "There's no crying in baseball. For you to stop the game, it means a great deal to me."

Number 19, Joey Votto ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/aYAQx86dly">pic.twitter.com/aYAQx86dly</a>

The 80-77 Reds, who halted a four-game skid on Sunday, are 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League with five games remaining – a two-game set at Cleveland starting Tuesday and a weekend series against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

"We're going to fight all the way to the end of the season," Votto told the loud crowd. "This team is tenacious."

In the final days of the 10-year, $225-million US contract extension he signed in 2012, Votto said he would wait until after the season to determine his baseball future. There is a $20 million team option for next season, with a $7 million buyout.

"After the last game of the season, whenever that happens, I would like to stop, just stop, and go from there," said the six-time all-star and 2010 NL MVP. "I don't like not being a productive player. I just want to continue to work and see where it takes me. I have never worked another