Todd Helton Announces That He Will Retire At Season’s End

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

We all knew it was coming, right? We’ve agreed that we should take some extra moments to appreciate Todd Helton because this is his last season. We’ve considered the options at first base when Helton departs and pondered what the future looks like without the face of the franchise. Frankly, there has been lots of time to come to grips with us.

And yet it still hit me really hard when Helton officially announced his retirement at season’s end last night. From the Denver Post:

"“Yes, this is it. It just seems like it’s time. It’s a young man’s game. I am 40 years old. I am looking forward to doing something else besides baseball. Whatever that may be. I am not sure yet…I am going to start a new chapter not only in my life but our lives. It will be different. It will be difficult, but it will be exciting.…During the season I definitely wavered. It usually wasn’t from having a great game. I just enjoyed the competition, and I felt like I had bat speed. That’s what I will miss. The competition. I don’t know how I will replace that yet. There were days, I thought, ‘Maybe I can do this one year.’ Then ultimately, it’s the travel, being away from the family. It is just time.”"

Todd Helton has 13 games left as a member of the Colorado Rockies. You better believe everybody interested in the Rockies has a reason to be invested in those games.