Joey Votto is nervous.It’s kind of a new feeling for him professionally. For most of his 17-year career, spanning 2,056 games and 8,746 plate appearances, Votto knew exactly what to expect, exactly what he needed to do to be successful.This time it’s different. The 42-year-old will make his debut on NBC/Peacock’s Sunday Night Baseball pregame show alongside Bob Costas this weekend and will also provide “Inside the Pitch” commentary during the game between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. He’ll continue to appear on select regular-season broadcasts and will serve as a pregame analyst with fellow recent retirees Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Rizzo for the network’s wild-card coverage this fall.“The thing I really like to do going into a baseball game is be as prepared as possible, and in such a way that would simplify the game,” Votto said Thursday in a video interview from a dog park in New York City. “And I am finding (a challenge) with this, because I’ve never done this before and because my strengths are specific but the game is vast.”Even if the other team put a rookie on the mound who had just been called up, at least he had some sort of scouting report and there was a finite number of pitches he could see in his at-bat. From the broadcast booth, there are more unknowns.“The only time I ever found that I was nervous was when I was ill-prepared,” Votto said. “And I was almost never ill-prepared.”Votto’s insight — and his ability to express his thoughts on hitting and the game — made him one of the most sought-after broadcast talents following his retirement from baseball in August 2024 after a frustrating 31-game stint in the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor-league system. But he needed a respite first.“I struggled with the last five-ish years — I wanted to retire when I was 35,” said Votto, who celebrated his 40th birthday during his final season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2023. “I was worn out. Playing hurt wasn’t fun. … I wanted to finish off my career because I viewed it as a responsibility to myself. But I just wasn’t having fun, and fun for me was playing well. And I didn’t even feel like I was playing well anymore.”Since his retirement, Votto has traveled the world and hasn’t watched much baseball, although he did go to one of the 2025 Tokyo Series games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs as a fan while he was enrolled at the Tokyo Sushi Academy. He also became a certified yoga instructor and generally lived up to his reputation as the most interesting man in baseball — even while away from it.Joey Votto on his post-retirement world travelsJayson StarkWith his NBC gig, he’s getting a toe back into the game. He’s also visited the Reds’ Class-A affiliate in Daytona, Fla.“I love watching kids, specifically future major-league kids, get better. They’ve got a few kids that legitimately have a chance,” Votto said. “I am not a member of the coaching staff; I am not a member of the organization whatsoever. But they were nice enough to let me through the gate and observe and chat with the kids. And you know, I stayed out of the way.”