COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Smashing a run-scoring double into the gap to score a run? No sweat. Picking a low throw out of the dirt at first base? Second nature.
But standing on stage in front of a crowd of thousands, with 54 baseball legends sitting behind you and millions watching on TV? And talking about yourself and your career?
Not easy if you’re Todd Helton.
But the face of the Rockies didn’t flinch Sunday afternoon. With a big assist from his wife, Christy, who helped him write his acceptance speech, Helton delivered a home run at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 50-year-old Helton, dressed in a gray suit with a purple tie, was funny. He joked about his infamous superstitions and referred to the ranch he still owns in northeast Colorado as a “Redneck Disneyland.”
He was also emotional, especially about his daughters, Tierney Faith and Gentry Grace, saying, “The pure tenderness of your heart, in each of you, blows me away at every turn. You both mean the world to me.”
Helton, who played all 17 of his major league seasons with the Rockies, was inducted along with Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, and manager Jim Leyland, who led the Florida Marlins to a World Series title in 1997 and also managed the Rockies in 1999.
Helton was the first to speak, for which he said he was thankful. He led off his 14-minute speech by saying, “Those of you who know me, know I would be more comfortable doing anything other than standing up here talking about myself. I’m just a ballplayer.”
No, not just a ballplayer. He’s now a baseball immortal, one of only 273 players to be enshrined in Cooperstown.
During a video tribute before Helton’s speech, Larry Walker, the Rockies’ first Hall of Famer who was elected in 2020, put Helton’s career in perspective.
“Todd Helton is the greatest of the Colorado Rockies, and he’s the greatest player who has ever played there, and he will probably be the greatest player who ever plays there,” Walker said.
Denver resident Rob Rosen, 31, who sported his purple Rockies jersey to the induction ceremony, called Helton’s speech “awesome.”
“But I expected it to be shorter because that’s just who Todd is,” Rosen continued. “But I loved it. It was so heartfelt.”
Of course, Helton thanked numerous people, including his late father, Jerry, who died at 65 in 2015, and his mom, Martha, who attended Sunday’s ceremony.
“Mom, thank you for all the time you put in,” he said. “Being a parent now, I see how much you sacrificed for me to reach my dream. You watched more baseball than most big-league scouts.”
Helton tipped his cap to the late Jerry McMorris, the Rockies’ first principal owner, as well as current owner Dick Monfort, with whom Helton played a round of golf on Saturday morning at Leatherstocking Golf Course at the famed Otesaga Resort Hotel.
“Dick, I guess you and I have broken an unwritten rule,” Helton said. “Owners and players aren’t supposed to be friends off the field. Dick, thank you for your friendship. You have been beyond gracious to me and my girls.”
Team trainer Keith Dugger, who everyone calls “Doogie,” has been Helton’s close friend since the beginning of Helton’s professional career. On Sunday, “Doogie” got a special shout-out and a Heltonesque dig.
“People who know me know that it takes a while for me to trust people,” Helton said. “I’ve known ‘Doogie’ for 30 years and I’ve trusted you for 29 ½ of those years.”
Many of Helton’s quirks have disappeared since he retired at the end of the 2013 season. But during his playing career, he was notorious for his “routines.”
“Some people have told me that early in my career, some of my superstitions were a little excessive,” he joked. “Same food, same route to the field, same routine. It made sense to no one but me.”
Then Helton displayed the comic timing that made him a popular figure in the Rockies clubhouse. He told the story about a trifecta of speeding tickets he got driving to the field for Triple-A games in Colorado Springs.
“After the first ticket, got three hits that day,” Helton said with a wide grin. “So, I took the same route, at the same speed. And the next day, the same officer gave me another ticket. I didn’t care. I got three hits that day as well. I asked the officer to meet me the third day, and he indulged me.”
During the weeks leading up to his induction, Helton repeatedly said that he really didn’t feel like a Hall of Fame player. He said he was nervous to meet his heroes, especially the Phillies’ famed third baseman Mike Schmidt.
After Sunday’s ceremony, Helton was asked if there was a moment when it hit him that he was, indeed, a Hall of Famer.
“Standing back there, waiting to go on the stage, the guys were so kind,” Helton said. “They all came by and offered me advice. They said, ‘Don’t worry about it, don’t be nervous, you’ve got this.’
“For me, that was the beginning of me feeling like I belonged. We have a players-only dinner tonight and I will probably feel like I belong after that.”
Helton also praised Rockies fans for their support and said: “I did my best competing on the baseball field. It was where I thought I belonged. It was my church and where I felt the most comfortable.”
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Originally Published: July 21, 2024 at 4:52 p.m.
