FanSided Mock Hall of Fame: Todd Helton loses ground in 2022 ballot

While former Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton may thankfully be making gains in the real National Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, he lost ground year-over-year in the mock Hall of Fame voting by experts representing FanSided baseball sites, including Rox Pile.

This year, former Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton fell further from the 75-percent threshold needed for inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame in mock voting by FanSided site experts

In last year’s mock balloting, Helton was named on 51 percent of the ballots submitted by those overseeing FanSided’s various baseball sites. This year, that number fell to 40 percent as the Colorado Rockies legend was listed on just 14 of 35 ballots. As a note, both experts for this site (Noah Yingling and me) voted for Helton.

FanSided site experts did, however, “elect” three former players in the mock balloting exercise, with Barry Bonds on 29 of the 35 ballots (83 percent), David Ortiz on 28 ballots (80 percent), and Roger Clemens on 27 ballots (77 percent).

Additionally, those gaining more votes than Helton in this year’s exercise included Andruw Jones (24 ballots, 69%), Scott Rolen (23 ballots, 66%), Alex Rodriguez (21 ballots, 60%), Billy Wagner (20 ballots, 57%), Manny Ramirez (16 ballots, 46%), and Curt Schilling (15 ballots, 43%).

You can see the entire FanSided mock ballot and voting results here.

When asked about why Helton was not named on their ballots, various FanSided site experts mentioned his time playing at Coors Field (even though it’s often been shown how well Helton also hit away from Denver) as well as Bonds, Schilling, and Clemens among those being listed on the ballot for the 10th and final time (much like Larry Walker when he was voted into Cooperstown) and earning a vote because of that.

The real Hall of Fame voting results from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) will be revealed on Tuesday, January 25 at 4 p.m. (Mountain time) on MLB Network.

As a note, Induction Weekend 2022 will be held from July 22-25 at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The induction ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (Eastern time)/11:30 a.m. (Mountain time) on Sunday, July 24 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center. Along with any players potentially elected by BBWAA voters, this year’s ceremony will also include Era Committee electees Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, and Buck O’Neil.