Todd Helton
Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a Major League Baseball first baseman who has played for the Colorado Rockies since the 1997 season. He bats and throws left-handed.
Helton is a complete player. He hits both for average and for power, and he can hit the ball out of any part of the park. He is especially dangerous when batting with two strikes. Although not a particularly fast runner, he displays good baserunning instincts. He hasn't hit less than .315 or had fewer than 25 home runs or 96 RBI in any of his first seven full seasons. Helton's batting statistics also receive a boost from where he plays: Coors Field. Players who have played at Coors have been noted to have a huge spike in their batting statistics due to the thin air.
With his glove, Helton is solid at first base. A winner of three Gold Glove Awards (2001, 2002, 2004), he looks smooth around the bag, his arm is average at best, and he also makes plays that most first basemen would not.
In 2000, Helton enjoyed his best season, leading the National League hitters in batting average (.372), RBI (147), hits (216), doubles (59), total bases (405), on base percentage (.463), slugging average (.698) and OPS (1.162), being considered for the MVP award (5th).
The following seasons, Helton hit .336 with 49 home runs and 146 RBI (2001); .329, 30, 109 (2002); .358, 33, 117 (2003), and .347, 32, 96 (2004).
Todd Helton is a career .339 hitter with 251 home runs and 836 RBI in 1135 games.
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Early years
In his youth, Helton was a good student and a promising star in football and baseball. At Knox Central High School, he was a quarterback and a defensive back in football, and was recruited to play for the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee. He was also drafted by the San Diego Padres but instead chose college, and went on to play football and baseball at Tennessee.
Accomplishments
- 5-time All-Star (2000–04)
- Dick Howser Trophy (Best National College Baseball Player, 1995)
- The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award (1998)
- Hit for the cycle (1999)
- NL Hank Aaron Award (2000)
- The Associated Press Player of the Year award (2000)
- Helton is the only player in MLB history to have 100-plus extra base hits in back–to–back seasons: 103, in 2000, and 105 in 2001. The only others to do it twice in their careers, but in different seasons, were Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930) and Chuck Klein (1930, 1932).
See also
External links
- Todd Helton at ESPN.com
- Baseball-Reference.com – career statistics and analysis
- Page at Baseball Library