Was Votto's Mothers Day Sunday Slam a Defining Moment?

I didn’t see Joey Votto’s home run in the bottom of the 7th inning that beat the Cubs on Mother’s Day. I was actually in the dugout playing a baseball game myself. I have a teammate, a guy who was on my college team who is a big Reds fan. He had his Droid out and was checking the box score.
“Damn, the Reds came back and won. They were trailing 3-2 and they came back and won on a 3-run jack by Votto. Leake got the win again,” he said as we took our own lumps as a team.
Last night’s 2-1 working man’s win over the Pirates made it three in a row. That’s 10 of the last 14. That’s really good baseball.

I missed Votto’s home run except for the highlight shows that night. It was an epic blast. Nothing cheap about that home run. Joey is having an All-Star season. He’s the lynchpin in the Cincinnati lineup. Without him, this isn’t a .400 club. I don’t give him enough admonishment. Joey, you’re appreciated and you’re a hell of a hitter.
And every once in a while, there’s a turning point in the where your club you root for defines itself. There’s been a few times when I thought I saw those moments. I was wrong and blinded by homerism and wanting my Reds to be sweet cinderella that year. But I read something the other day written by a long-time Reds fan that made me think a little bit. Have a look:
The Votto homerun on Sunday reminded me of another homerun from almost 40 years ago.
My memory fails me as to the exact details of the event 40 years ago and I will explain what I can remember and maybe some other poster can fill in the blanks for me…..anyway, I recall it being the 1972 season and the month being July. The Reds were trailing the Dodgers in the NL West and played a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. They were trailing late in the first game when their reserve catcher, namely Hal King, hit a game winning 3 run HR off of (I believe) Don Sutton. The Reds went on to sweep the doubleheader and ended up passing the Dodgers soon thereafter on their way to the NL West title.
Like some other have stated on this board recently, it seems as though the Reds are slowly beginning to gel…..and the game yesterday just seemed to be the kind of memorable moment that can sometimes he looked back upon as the point where a positive wave began.
The guy who wrote that was actually wrong. The doubleheader was actually in 1973. But he had one thing right. That fan saw from afar a team grow up. A lot of those guys were part of what would become the Big Red Machine.
I think there were countless times like this in the 1999 season we all loved and long for so much. If the Reds keep delivering for the most part, winning 2 of 3 here and 2 of 3 elswhere; then just maybe that old time fan was right.
The Reds are at a point where they’re defining what the 2010 team is. Every night, they’re defining who they’ll be remembered as somewhat. You have to like what you’re seeing out of these guys since that Saturday circus carnival at home against San Diego. They look focused at the very least.