Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton elected into National Baseball Hall of Fame

A first-round pick in the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Tennessee, Helton spent the entirety of his 17-year career with the Rockies. Helton quickly became one of the premier hitters in the senior circuit and all of MLB, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1998. From 2000-04, he recorded five consecutive top-20 finishes in NL MVP Award voting, including a career-high fifth in 2000. That season, Helton led MLB with 216 hits, 59 doubles, 147 RBIs, .372 BA, .463 OBP, .698 SLG and 1.162 OPS.

Helton enjoyed a nine-year period of dominance from 1998-2007, in which he clubbed 298 home runs, drove in 1,076 RBIs, posted a 1.017 OPS and 144 OPS+. He finished his career with more walks (1,335) than strikeouts (1,175), punching out more than 100 times in a single season just once (2001). He appeared in five All-Star Games and won three Gold Gloves. Helton was a member of the only Rockies team to make the World Series back in 2007. He joins Larry Walker as the only Rockies represented in Cooperstown. Walker took his place in the Hall of Fame in 2021.

Todd Helton to become second Rockie to be inducted into HOF

“Todd was a tremendous presence because of who he was and how long he had been doing it,” said Charlie Blackmon, Rockies outfielder and former teammate of Helton, via MLB.com. “It was a real treat to take those preconceptions about him into an actual relationship. Getting to know him was a little hard at first, but it became easier with time.

“I came into his clubhouse as a young player. Now I’m on the other side of that. I try to remember what it was like. A lot of these guys aren’t super naturally gifted from a confidence standpoint, like me. I was a little bit nervous, unsure of myself, and a big part of being able to play at the big league level is either having enough success to where you feel confident, or somehow figuring out how to be competent, productive. So it’s something I’ve tried to do for young players.”

Before his professional career, Helton was a two-way superstar for the Volunteers. He recorded a .370 BA with 38 home runs and a program record 238 RBIs, as well as pitching to a 2.24 ERA on the mound. Helton holds the NCAA single-season record with 47 straight scoreless innings pitched. He also spent two seasons as a quarterback for the football team, briefly starting over eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.