As 2022 dawns, Todd Helton showing progress in Hall of Fame voting

Long-time Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton continues to make gains in his quest for baseball immortality and a spot in Cooperstown, N.Y., in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

An update on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame voting for Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton

In his fourth year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, Helton continues to make progress toward the 75 percent voting threshold that must be achieved for inclusion in the Hall of Fame. According to the latest data from Ryan Thibodaux and his team that tracks Hall of Fame ballots, through 110 public ballots, Helton is sitting at 56.4 percent. That is a slight upgrade of where Helton was on the 2021 ballot cycle at the same time, and a large upgrade over 2020 and 2019.

During the 2021 ballot cycle, Helton eventually finished at 44.9 percent (ranking seventh among all players on the ballot), a 15.7 percent jump from his previous year’s total of 29.2. That 15.7 percent increase marked the second-highest gain of all players, trailing only Scott Rolen’s 17.6 percent.

Helton’s numbers showing an increase while new candidates such as David Ortiz make their way onto the ballot and 10th-year candidates such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens gather potential final year votes continues to be a good sign for Helton, who played his entire 17-year with the Colorado Rockies and helped the franchise to their only World Series berth in 2007.

You can take a look for the Helton’s case for inclusion in Cooperstown here.

Helton himself has preached patience when it comes to the balloting and his numbers, seeing the 10 years that it took for his teammate, Larry Walker, to finally earn enough votes to be included in Cooperstown as the first-ever player from the Rockies to earn that honor.

The BBWAA will announce the final results of the 2022 ballot live on MLB Network from Cooperstown on January 25.