Todd Helton

What do you'll think of the guy? Bear with me through a long read...

Let me say this: I've been a Rockies fan since their inception, so I'm certainly biased. He has been the face of the franchise, and I love to watch him play. Several years back, I was certain that he would be the first Rockie in the HOF. He had power, the eye to get on base, and a few gold gloves. Today, he may have lost a lot of that power (despite the granny tonight), but he still has the eye, still digs the bad throws out at first, and still consistently has some of the longest ABs in the majors (when Helton has two strikes against him, my father likes to say that we are about to see 6 or 7 foul balls, which is often true and speaks to Helton's ability at the plate). As you may know, he just hit his 2000th career hit two nights ago, but he is 35, so 3000 is VERY unlikely. There is the fact that his best years, with incredible stats, happened at Coors, which was a hitter's delight at the time. There is also the fact that he lost a lot of weight after being diagnosed with intestinal colitis a few years back, which several folks said was fancy talk for quitting steroids. He may be guilty of that, I don't know, but I do feel that baseball fans have to respect the guy as a hard worker. I just know that I was worried he would fall off and start sucking this year, and he hasn't so far. Will he? Does he have a realistic shot at the HOF? Are you a fan of the guy at all?

Any and all comments welcomed, thanks for reading a slightly drunk Rockies fan's rant.

His career BA of .328 ranks him 35th all time...he is a great pure hitter. I doubt he even comes close to sniffing a HOF bid....the era is tainted and playing at Coors devalues his offensive numbers even more.

muchuckwagon said:

His career BA of .328 ranks him 35th all time...he is a great pure hitter. I doubt he even comes close to sniffing a HOF bid....the era is tainted and playing at Coors devalues his offensive numbers even more.

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I feel you here, and this is the crux of the whole argument. He played in a tainted era and in a ridiculously offensive ballpark. But he has lost his power, and is now just being what you have called him: a pure hitter. He has always had the hitter's eye, and has always played an above average first base. He will, as you have said, probably not sniff the HOF. But could he be closer to that sniff having played for a different franchise? His career HR niumbers would be down for sure, but would his percentages, which currently rank among the all-timers?

I think he CAN make the HOF but a couple things need to happen:

1. He needs to stick with the Rockies his entire career (believe it or not, writers love the guys that stick it out with a team through thick and thin like Gwynn, Brett, Yount, Biggio, Ripken, etc)

2. He needs to AT LEAST (if not more) get 2,500 hits. The only way I see him getting in without 2,500 hits is if he does #3 in my list and has 400 HR's. He needs about 75 more HR for this? That's a long shot at his age and the rapid rate his power has declined.

3. He needs to keep his average above .315. If he miraculously gets 2,700-2,800 hits, above .300 may suffice.

In my opinion: 25 years ago? No frickin' way. But by today's standards? Absolutely. The HOF has become so watered down that I've lost all hope in who's going to make it and who isn't.

And steroids/Coors Field aside, he put up ridiculous numbers on a consistent basis for a very long time. He wasn't a Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, come in hit .320/40 HR for 3 years and then be average...no this guy for the past 12 years has hit .330 and had one terrible year (last year...injury didn't help).

He has to play about 4 more years but if he keeps this up, I say he's the first Rockie in the HOF.

His on-base percentage is something like .428 - so he is a very good player regardless of whether he makes the HOF or is tainted.

Between the era he played in and the home stadium he played at, his career has evened out. In his prime Helton put up some poor man's Lou Gehrig numbers, but even when healthy in the last five or six seasons, he was more like post injuries Don Mattingly or a Mark Grace.

He is probably a borderline HOFer and with his age, isn't likely going to dent any significant milestone numbers people recognize. If the era he had been playing in had gotten less notoriety, maybe we'd still see him putting up first-baseman quality power numbers.

Though I haven't seen him as much, I like the idea of him being such a pure hitter, never really giving up at-bats and a guy who can hit a long double to the opposite field after a seven or eight pitch battle with the pitcher.

A guy like that now is Kevin Youkilis.

markakis8 said:

In my opinion: 25 years ago? No frickin' way. But by today's standards? Absolutely. The HOF has become so watered down that I've lost all hope in who's going to make it and who isn't.

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That is something I don't understand.There are a lot of people in the hall of fame with lesser numbers while some with greater and better numbers or at least comparable numbers sit out.I don't think the hall of fame is that watered down.I think what you are seeing is a lot more players enter into the hall of fame because of the simple fact time is marching on.I absolutely admire the guys who are already in there but as time marches on you will see more and more names in there.Its merely due to the fact that every year there are new guys on the ballot and new choices to be made.Sure they may be guys you grew up watching and admired and you may feel like they just can't be matched up to the old timers because the people we all saw and see play seem like normal athletes while the other guys are like legends and myths almost.

I am not trying to single you out here so don't take it that way but it seems like everyone wants it to be the same group of guys in the Hall and lets just not add anyone else.There is no way they can compare.And if they do get voted in then everyone's attitude is that the Hall just feels the need to add a few names every year.As much of a fickle bunch as the sports writers can be...that is hard to believe.They are keeping Big Mac and Rose out based on principles alone.If in fact they really wanted Rose in they could petition.I am sure if it was a heavily signed petition by those who actually vote...Selig would have to give it at least the time of day.And with Mac...we all know why they are keeping him out.

The Hall is supposed to represent the greatest players but one thing to remember is that the seasons have gotten longer(than they used to be anyway), the time spent focusing or working or training or studying game film has intensified and increased, and it is harder for some players to achieve certain milestones now because of the way the game is strategized.Theoretically...Biggio should never have reached 3,000 hits because he was a burden on the club.Griffey Jr. should not be playing anymore.Piazza shouldn't have stayed in as long as he has.Maybe even Big Hurt needs to hang up the cleats.Pitchers are going to have a hard time throwing no-nos, winning 20+ games, getting over 3,000 K's, or getting anywhere near 300 wins.Or even pitching complete games.The game is played so differently today than it was even 10 or 15 years ago.Everything changes and you kind of have to be mindful of that.The game has always been a business but never more so than now.

Yes Helton has better numbers at home, but he is also a .294 hitter away from Coors. That is impressive.

He is certainly not the first player to be greatly helped out by the ballpark he plays in. Take a look at Yaz career splits. He batted only .264 on the road and had 300 fewer RBIs on the road. His average road numbers and the fact he greatly benefitted by the left field wall at Fenway did not hurt him from making the Hall

One of the most underrated pure hitters of our generation. At the plate, i'd take Helton over Ichiro every day of the week. Where Ichiro has uncanny hand eye, Helton has a hitter's eye. I am a huge fan of OBP to determine productive trips to the plate, and hardly anybody has been better in the last decade at consistently productive trips to the plate than Helton.

Will he make the HOF..... only if he holds on too long and hits some milestones which is unlikely. I would compare him to a modern day Will Clark that came out of the gate with a lot of power potential and morphed into one of the better contact hitters in the game as his career went along. He should be revered in Colorado and his number should be retired, but the HOF is not for him.

Vagrant said:

One of the most underrated pure hitters of our generation. At the plate, i'd take Helton over Ichiro every day of the week. Where Ichiro has uncanny hand eye, Helton has a hitter's eye. I am a huge fan of OBP to determine productive trips to the plate, and hardly anybody has been better in the last decade at consistently productive trips to the plate than Helton.

Will he make the HOF..... only if he holds on too long and hits some milestones which is unlikely. I would compare him to a modern day Will Clark that came out of the gate with a lot of power potential and morphed into one of the better contact hitters in the game as his career went along. He should be revered in Colorado and his number should be retired, but the HOF is not for him.

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Good comparison.

Helton has 2 more hits tonight already.

I don't know about all the "HOF" debate but I can say that I'm really enjoying Helton's bounceback year! Early in the year I was a believer & went & snagged him in most of my fantasy squad's (& I'm very happy with his production thus far, I keep waiting for it to drop off- like it's "too good to be true" but it hasn't thus far)! GO HELTON!