Colorado Rockies: A look at the Hall of Fame case for Todd Helton

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PHILADELPHIA – OCTOBER 07: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the NLDS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

In the past week or so, the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot was released and, as expected, among the first timers, Todd Helton is on the ballot. However, considering the Coors Field bias that most of the BBWAA members have, he may be a long shot, at least this season.

Whether it’s because a disdain for Denver and/or Coors Field, ignorance of numbers, or just sheer stupidity, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America writers that have votes for the Hall of Fame do not like Rockies players but if you look at the numbers, there a couple of Rockies that should be Hall of Famers.

One of them is Todd Helton. If you are a Rockies fan who saw Helton on a day in and day out basis, you probably already know this. However, the numbers back it up.

For me personally, when I look at a player, to determine them to be a “Hall of Famer”, I want to see eight “Hall of Fame” seasons and it helps in particular if the seasons are bunched together. For Helton, I see eight Hall of Fame seasons in a row plus two more seasons after.

The seasons that are together are 1998 through 2005. In those seven seasons, these are the numbers that he posted.

Standard Batting
Year	Age	G	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	Awards
1998	24	152	78	167	37	25	97	53	54	.315	.380	.530	.911	119	281	RoY-2
1999	25	159	114	185	39	35	113	68	77	.320	.395	.587	.981	122	339
2000	26	160	138	216	59	42	*147*	103	61	*.372*	.463	*.698*	*1.162*	163	*405*	AS,MVP-5,SS
2001	27	159	132	197	54	49	146	98	104	.336	.432	.685	1.116	160	402	AS,MVP-9,GG,SS
2002	28	156	107	182	39	30	109	99	91	.329	.429	.577	1.006	148	319	AS,MVP-19,GG,SS
2003	29	160	135	209	49	33	117	111	72	.358	.458	.630	1.088	165	367	AS,MVP-7,SS
2004	30	154	115	190	49	32	96	127	72	.347	.469	.620	1.088	165	339	AS,MVP-16,GG
		G	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	Awards

His average season during this span was 157 games with 192 hits, 47 doubles, 35 home runs, 118 RBI, 94 walks, only 76 strikeouts, and a .340/.464/.620, and a 149 OPS+ (or 49 percent better than league average). The OPS+ is the big number here considering that it is park adjusted, so the “well, he played half of his games at Coors Field” don’t really have an excuse.

The other three seasons that are borderline Hall of Fame worthy for me are these three.

Standard Batting
Year	G	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	Awards
2005	144	92	163	45	20	79	106	80	.320	*.445*	.534	.979	144	272
2007	154	86	178	42	17	91	116	74	.320	.434	.494	.928	133	275
2009	151	79	177	38	15	86	89	73	.325	.416	.489	.904	127	266	MVP-13
	G	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	Awards

To me, those seasons and the other seven put him over the top, but there are a fewer other things to look at.

28 Jun 1998: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies looks on during an interleague game against the Oakland Athletics at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Athletics 11-10. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /

What about his numbers outside of Coors Field?

In just looking at the stat OPS, which is on-base percentage and slugging percentage added together, at Coors Field, Helton’s average was a staggering 1.048 for his career. If that were his total OPS for his entire career (home and road), only three players in the Hall of Fame would be better than Helton.

Their names are Babe Ruth (1.164), Ted Williams (1.116), and Lou Gehrig (1.080).

However, on the road, his OPS was .850.

Stop the presses. His OPS was 200 points lower on the road. “Don’t let that man in the Hall of Fame!” –A BBWAA voter, probably.

But on closer inspection, that is still a very high number. The average Hall of Famer’s total OPS is .841. If Helton were to be inducted, three guys directly below him would be Orlando Cepeda, Tony Gwynn, and Reggie Jackson. Just above him would be Billy Williams, Jim Rice, and Al Kaline.

Overall, though, his career OPS is .953. That puts him at 19th all time.

Here’s a breakdown of the 18 ahead of him: 12 are Hall of Famers, 2 are currently playing, 3 aren’t in because steroid allegations (Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, and Mark McGwire), and the only other one…is another former Rockie in Larry Walker (but his Hall of Fame case is another examination soon).

The four players below him are Jeff Bagwell (HOFer), Mel Ott (HOFer), Miguel Cabrera (still active but he’ll be a HOFer five years after he retires), and Ralph Kiner (HOFer).

So, now that we have proven that Helton is a Hall of Famer on the offensive front, let’s look at his defense.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 24: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies runs to first as he singles against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Coors Field on September 24, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

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Obviously, he was very good offensively but, defensively, he also did very well.

He won a Gold Glove award three different times but that, quite honestly, doesn’t mean a whole lot. For example, Derek Jeter won a total of five Gold Gloves…and by Defensive Runs Saved, he is the worst fielder in all of baseball (regardless of position) since the stat was created in 2002…by 60 percent over the next worst fielder, who is, coincidentally Prince Fielder.

But for Helton, though, the numbers back up the awards (particularly in his first and last seasons in winning the Gold Glove).

In combining Helton’s Total Zone, or TZ (which is the main stat used to quantify fielding prior to 2002), and Defensive Runs Saved, or DRS (which was created just before the 2002 season), was at 61 TZ/DRS and 0 is league average.

Now, this isn’t to say that defense is really something that is looked at to the magnitude of offense (because Derek Jeter will waltz into the Hall of Fame next year because of his offense and his performances in October/November). But for Helton, is something that, if a voter is on the fence about him being a Hall of Famer, it could be something that puts him over the top.

Final Thoughts

Since balloting started, it is obviously hard to gauge where Helton will finish up on the balloting (he is on 3 of the 7 ballots made public, entering Tuesday morning). Personally, I would not bet that he will make it in this season and I would, quite frankly, be shocked if he gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

Next. Examining a trade for Noah Syndergaard. dark

Whether it’s because ignorance, stupidity, or just a hatred for Coors Field, it’s a sad reality for Rockies fans and anybody that dons a Rockies uniform that they will likely not sniff the Hall of Fame unless something drastic changes.

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