Todd Helton: A Bit Short of Cooperstown

So this is Matt's take on Todd Helton's Hall of Fame case, but what do you think?  Let us know by leaving a comment below, and then answering the poll at the top of the blog.  Also, take a look back at Adam's piece arguing for Helton's enshrinement into baseball immortality.

When a player can easily been labeled as the greatest hitter in franchise history, one would typically assume that the player is a lock to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, not every franchise plays half of its games in the friendly confines of Coors Field. Located in the Mile-High City of Denver, Colorado, the stadium quickly earned the reputation as the friendliest hitters park in the game following its inception in 1995, primarily because of the combination of the location’s high altitude and low air density.

There is absolutely no denying what Todd Helton accomplished throughout the course of his great career; five consecutive All-Star game appearances from 2000 to 2004, three National League Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Sluggers, and an NL batting title in 2000. However, after taking a quick look at his statistics, one can see the vast discrepancies between the numbers he put up at home as opposed to what he achieved away from Coors Field.

Throughout the course of his career, Helton has played just 33 more games at home yet his career batting average at home is a whopping .345 compared to his road average of a solid .287. In addition, he has scored 343 more runs, 84 more home runs, and a ridiculous 304 more RBIs in front of his home fans. His career Slugging Percentage at home checks in at a monster .607, compared to a pedestrian .469 away from Denver.

Moreover, as seen by ESPN's Park Factor statistic, which essentially compares the rate of a team’s statistics at home versus the stats on the road, Coors Field has finished in the top five every single year since this metric’s creation, displaying the advantage Helton has once again. Even with the so-called humidor, Colorado's hitting advantage was still the best in baseball.

While one may say that Helton led the Rockies on their improbable run to the 2007 World Series, that is not the case either. Helton finished fifth on his own team in home runs that year with just 17, and he batted a mere .220 in the postseason with 2 RBIs and no homers; in his only other playoff appearance he batted under the Mendoza line – an awful .188 average.

Since coming into the league with the Marlins back in 1993, the Rockies have had just one MVP and his name wasn’t even Todd Helton. It was Larry Walker, who prior to joining Colorado was nothing more than an average big leaguer. To refute Helton’s case even further, only twenty-two first basemen have ever made the Hall, and none have been inducted since 2006.

Although Helton will be the first player in Rockies history to have his number retired one day, he did nearly all of his damage early on his career. Had he never played a game in Coors Field he would have likely been considered just an above average, if not solid first basemen. Baseball writers are well-aware of Helton’s inflated statistics to the point when it is all said and done, the Toddfather will come up just a bit short of Cooperstown.

So Matt gave his take on Todd Helton's Hall of Fame case, but what do you think?  Let us know by leaving a comment below, and then answering the poll at the top of the blog.  Also, take a look back at Adam's piece arguing for Helton's enshrinement into baseball immortality.