Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is in his sixth year on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. If elected, Helton will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on July 21.
Like former teammate Larry Walker before him, one of the primary arguments against Helton’s Hall of Fame case has been the number of games he played in the thin air of Coors Field. Still, there are plenty of numbers to back up his case.
Here are some highlights from his 17-year career:
• Played his entire career with the Rockies, and leads the franchise in games played (2,247), runs (1,401), hits (2,519), doubles (592), home runs (369), RBIs (1,406) and walks (1,335).
• He is one of two players in Rockies history to be selected as an All-Star in five consecutive seasons (also Nolan Arenado, 2015-19).
• Posted a career slash line of .316/.414/.539. Only six other players in major league history posted equal or higher averages in all three categories: Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams (all of them are in the Hall of Fame).
• From 1997 to 2013, Helton led all National League first basemen with 2,247 games played and over that span he also led NL first basemen in runs (1,401), hits (2,519), doubles (592), triples (37), RBI (1,406) and walks (1,335), while ranking second in home runs (369).
• Was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner (2001-03, 2004) and four-time Silver Slugger winner (2000-03).
• At the peak of his career, from 1999 to 2003, Helton was one of only four players in major league history with five or more consecutive seasons of a .320 or better batting average, 30 or more home runs, 100 or more RBIs and 100 or more runs scored. The others are Gehrig (1930-37), Ruth (1926-32) and Foxx (1932-36).
• Helton posted a 1.048 OPS at Coors Field vs. a .855 OPS on the road. However, his OPS away from Coors Field is higher than the road OPS of Hall of Famers Dave Winfield (.841), Eddie Murray (.838), Rickey Henderson (.836), Tony Gwynn (.835), Al Kaline (.827) and George Brett (.826).
• Helton is in the top 40 for career doubles (592, 20th), OPS (.953, 23rd), intentional walks (185, 26th), on-base percentage (.414, 29th), slugging percentage (.539, 37th), walks (1,335, 38th) and extra-base hits (998, 40th).
Sources: Colorado Rockies and Baseball ReferenceÂ
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