Rox Pile
Fansided

Colorado Rockies: What if Todd Helton signed with the San Diego Padres?

By Noah Yingling

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: Todd Helton #17 of the Colorado Rockies bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Wally Joyner of the San Diego Padres
5 Jul 1998: Infielder Wally Joyner #22 of the San Diego Padres in action during a game against the Colorado Rockies at the Qualcomm Park in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Rockies 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport /

Padres first baseman Wally Joyner was a bit of an anachronism for his time.

Joyner, after 1987, was known to be a fairly low power guy (he only had more than 16 homers once after he hit 22 and 34 in ’86 and ’87) but he was always on base. From 1988 through 1997, he had an on-base percentage of .365. In 1997, he hit 13 homers with 83 RBI and hit .327/.390/.486 for the Padres.

The Padres outfield situation was less steady. In 1997 (when the Padres went 76-86), the Padres primary outfielders were Greg Vaughn, Steve Finley, and Tony Gwynn.

If Helton was a Padre then, he likely would have replaced Vaughn because Gwynn was “Mr. Padre” and Finley had 28 HRs and 92 RBI in 1997. Vaughn had hit just .216/.322/.393 in 120 games in 1997.

However, Vaughn ended up being one of the key reasons why the Padres went from being a 76-win team in 1997 to facing the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series. The Padres, who won 98 games in 1998, got an MVP-like season from Vaughn, who posted a slash line of .272/.363/.597 with 50 home runs and 119 RBI. He won a Silver Slugger Award, was an All-Star, and came in 4th in NL MVP voting.

Vaughn was traded after the season to the Reds, though and the Padres went from a 98-win team to a 74-win team in 1999. Along with Vaughn, they let go of their ace Kevin Brown and third baseman Ken Caminiti. The trio was half of the team’s top six players in WAR that season.

Home/Colorado Rockies History