Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton makes progress in Hall of Fame Voting, but obstacles still remain

As the results of the 2021 National Baseball Hall of Fame class were announced late Tuesday afternoon, former Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton didn’t make it in his third year on the ballot. That’s not a shock given his short time on the ballot.

He did, however, make a sizable jump in the overall vote percentage he garnered, escalating from 29.2 percent in 2020 to 44.9 percent this year. That 15 percent jump is almost equivalent to what we saw with Larry Walker’s jump in 2018 from 21.9 percent to 34.1 percent. Major progress!

Helton also outpaced everyone on the ballot in terms of votes gained on all public ballots (released before the announcement date) at +33 according to the Hall of Fame Tracker put together by Ryan Thibodeaux and his team.

All of these signs are encouraging for Helton’s chances of being elected into the Hall of Fame. When Walker had his 12% jump in 2018 he was elected two years later and gaining the most votes of any player on the ballot is always a great thing.

But that doesn’t mean we can get all that comfortable that it’s going to be an easier ride into the Hall for the Toddfather yet as there are still quite a few other obstacles that need to be cleared before we book our second trip to Cooperstown to see a former Rockie be inducted.