On Wednesday, April 30, former Colorado Rockies first baseman and Hall-of-Famer Todd Helton stopped by Rio Grande Credit Union Field, home of the Rockies Triple-A affiliate team, The Albuquerque Isotopes to oversee operations and field questions from local media.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame last year alongside baseball titans such as Joe Mauer and Adrián Beltré, Helton is widely considered one of the greatest Rockie hitters in the team’s over 30-year history. This high praise toward Helton’s legacy is justified for a multitude of reasons — most notably, the offensive metrics from his 2000 season. Building a statline so impressive that it would make even the most dominant pitchers of the era intimidated, Helton finished the season with a league leading .372 batting average, 147 RBIs, 216 hits and a career-high 8.9 wins above replacement, among other leading statistics.
Helton’s offensive production can be done in three words: video game numbers. Even though Helton’s 2000 season was statistically his most productive, he still managed to log a batting average above .300 for 12 out of his 17 seasons in the bigs. His consistency paved the way for him to become immortalized in Cooperstown. The first baseman has amassed numerous pieces of hardware throughout his 17-year career, including a batting title, five All-Star Game nods, three Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards.
John P. Hefti is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
