Todd Helton made his major league debut on Aug. 2, 1997, at 23 years and 347 days old. He played his final game on Sept. 29, 2013, at 40 years and 40 days old. He played 2,247 games and went to the plate 9,453 times.
In a sport defined by numbers, the first baseman compiled statistics that established him as the greatest player in Rockies history. Those numbers also carried him to Cooperstown, where he’ll be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
The following statistics illustrate Helton’s brilliant career:
1997
The number: 369
Helton launched 369 home runs in his career. No. 1 came in Helton’s first big-league game — a 6-5 loss at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium on Aug. 2, 1997. Helton hit 2 for 4 with a walk. He started in left field, batted fifth and flew out to short left field in his first at-bat. He singled in his second at-bat off Francisco Cordova. After walking in the sixth inning, he hit his first home run, a solo shot on a 1-1 count in the eighth off Marc Wilkins to deep right-center field.
1998
The Number: 2nd
Helton had an amazing first full season. He led all major league rookies in batting average (.315), homers (25), RBIs (97), multi-hit games (49), total bases (281), slugging percentage (.530) and extra-base hits (63). He also led all National League rookies in runs (78), hits (167) and on-base percentage (.380). But he finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote to Chicago pitcher Kerry Wood, who went 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA in 26 starts.
1999
The Number: 37
Never a speedster, Helton hit 37 triples in his career. The most memorable came on June 19, 1999, when he hit for the cycle in the Rockies’ 10-2 win over the Marlins at Coors Field. Helton had four hits in four at-bats and became the first big-league player to hit for the cycle while leading off in every at-bat.
Helton had injured his left wrist the night before when Marlins catcher Jorge Fabregas stepped on it during a rundown, but he was back in the lineup the next night. His cycle-clinching triple came in the seventh inning in his final at-bat against Brian Edmondson. Helton lined the ball into the right-field gap and took off.
“I knew what I had to get,” he said after the game. “I was going to run until they tagged me. Once I hit the ball into the gap, I just took off and put my head down and didn’t stop until I got to third.”
After Helton slid safely into third, the crowd of 47,051 gave him a standing ovation.
2000
The Number: .512
The greatest season in Helton’s career included one of the greatest months in history. The first baseman hit .512 (42 for 82) in May, with 11 home runs, seven doubles, 26 walks and an OPS of 1.588 in 25 games. He struck out just nine times.
Helton opened the month by going 4 for 5 with three home runs against the Expos.
“I was thinking, ‘OK, now he’s hit the high-water mark,’ ” former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd recalled. “But he kept it up. Bythe end of May, his average was .421. It was incredible.”
2001
The Number: 49
In the final season before the humidor was installed at Coors Field, Helton slugged a career-high 49 home runs, tying him with Hall of Fame teammate Larry Walker for the most homers in a season by Rockie. Helton’s .336 batting average was second only to Walker’s .350 in the National League. Helton and Walker became the first NL teammates to finish one-two in the batting race since Willie Mays and Don Mueller did it for the 1954 New York Giants.
2002
The Number: .329
For most players, hitting .329 would be a cause for celebration, but not for a young Helton in his prime. For the first time in his major league career, Helton had to battle lower back pain, which robbed him of some power. Ever the tough self-critic, Helton said, “I did so many things bad that I have tons of room for improvement.”
2003
The Number: .00022
That’s how many points Helton finished behind the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols in the closest batting race in National League history. Pujols hit .35871, while Helton finished at .35849.
The duo entered the final game in a virtual tie. The Cardinals played Arizona and Pujols went 2 for 5 with a double. The Rockies played at San Diego later in the day in front of 60,988 at the final game held at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly known as Jack Murphy Stadium). In the eighth inning, the Rockies scored two runs and extended their lead to 10-7. With a man on second and two outs, Helton stepped to the plate. He was 2 for 4 and needed a hit to win the batting title. Padres manager Bruce Bochy, setting up a force play, had Rod Beck intentionally walk Helton. It was his final plate appearance of the season.
2004
The Number: .469
That was Helton’s on-base percentage. It set a franchise record and was the second-highest in the majors behind the Giants’ Barry Bonds, who set a major league record with an astonishing .609 OBP. Helton’s .469 mark would have led the NL in 94 of the 100 seasons from 1900 to 1999.
2005
The Number: .250
Helton got off the worst start of his career and was hitting just .250 after 68 games, more than a third of the way through the season. He also went on the injured list for the first time in his career, from July 26 to Aug. 9, with a strained left calf muscle. Helton hit .383 in the season’s final 69 games to finish with a .320 average.
2006
The Number: 15
Helton slugged only 15 homers, the first time in his career he failed to hit at least 20. Just 15 games in the season, he entered the hospital with a high fever and intense pain and the doctors weren’t sure what was wrong. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with acute terminal ileitis, a painful inflammation of the small intestine. He spent three nights in the hospital and was on the disabled list from April 20 to May 4. The illness sapped Helton’s strength, but he rebounded to hit .332 over his final 60 games and finished at .302.
2007
The Number: .999
Colorado’s 2007 season is remembered for the remarkable run known as “Rocktober” — a streak that propelled the club to its only World Series appearance. On Sept. 18, Helton’s two-out, two-strike, two-run, walk-off homer off Dodgers closer Takashi Saito sparked Rocktober. Perhaps forgotten in that memorable ’07 season was Helton’s .999 fielding percentage (two errors in 545 total chances) at first base, the highest mark of his career.
2008
The Number: 83
A degenerative disc in Helton’s lower back, causing numbness in his left leg, ultimately required Helton to undergo surgery in September. He was limited to just 83 games.
“I was able to deal with (the pain) and never realized there was anything major wrong with (my back),” he said at the time. “But when I started losing feeling in my legs, I put two and two together and realized I better get something done.”
Helton batted .264 with only seven homers and 29 RBIs.
2009
The Number: 500
During a rebound season in which the Rockies made the playoffs for the second time in Helton’s career, he hit .325, with 15 home runs and 86 RBI in 151 games. On July 22 vs. Arizona’s Jon Garland, he became the 50th player in history with 500 career doubles. The game was halted briefly as the crowd gave Helton a standing ovation, and a groundskeeper came out to second base to switch out the bag for a keepsake.
“It was a neat moment, no doubt about it,” said Helton, who received the bag and the ball from the game. “It was cool.”
Helton finished his career with 592 doubles and ranks 20th in major league history.
2010
The Number: 4.35
At age 36, Helton played in only 118 games and hit .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs. His back problems returned and he struggled to drive the ball. However, he remained a tough out, and he averaged 4.35 pitches per plate appearance, a career-high. The Rockies crumbled at the end of the season and failed to make the playoffs.
“The mentality, the character, the work ethic of this team, it’s easy to have all that when the best player in the history of the franchise is the hardest worker on the team,” manager Jim Tracy said. “It’s absolutely tearing him to pieces not to be involved with us, to not be the player we’ve known him to be.”
2011
The Number: .302
For the 12th and last time in his career, Helton hit .300. He batted .302 with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs and 27 doubles. He came out of the gate hot and was the NL’s fourth-leading hitter prior to the All-Star break with a .321 average.
2012
The Number: One
It was a frustrating season for Helton, who played in just 69 games, his fewest for a full season in his career. He suffered a right hip injury that eventually required surgery and ended his season in early August. But there was still magic in the bat. On April 29 vs. the Mets at Coors Field, the 38-year-old launched a two-out, pinch-hit grand slam to right field in the eighth inning off reliever Tim Byrdak to tie the game, 4-4. Helton’s good friend Peyton Manning, the Broncos quarterback, was among the 36,690 fans in attendance.
It was the seventh grand slam of Helton’s career but his only pinch-hit grand slam. The Rockies, however, lost 6-5 in 11 innings.
2013
The Number: 2,500
On Sept. 1 at Coors Field against Cincinnati, Helton reached a major milestone. This is what The Denver Post wrote:
“Right-hander Curtis Partch’s 3-2 fastball arrived at 96 mph, slicing toward the outside of the plate. Todd Helton, as he’s done countless times before, stayed on the pitch, whipped his bat and sent the ball screaming down the third-base line for a double.
But not just any double.
It was the 2,500th hit of Helton’s major-league career, all with the Rockies, and made him just the 96th player ever to touch that milestone.
“It’s a big number. I’m very proud of it. I’m very proud of every one of them,” the first baseman said Sunday after the Rockies defeated the Reds 7-4 and won the three-game series at Coors Field. “Sitting here, 40 years old and going out and playing baseball for a living, I don’t take that lightly. I’m very humble and appreciative for every day I get to go out there and put on the uniform.”
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Originally Published: July 21, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.
