Todd Helton

[Jake]

7 full major league seasons:

1372 hits
251 homers
.339 career BA
.423 career OBP
1.048 career OPS
836 RBI

3 Gold Gloves
Lifetime fielding percentage of .995

5 time All-Star

Top 10 in MVP voting 3 times.


How much does him playing at Coors Field affect his consideration?

[rich]

I HATE using Coor's #'s. Vinny would be H.O.F. in that dump. Dante too!

[nightal]

No........................wait a minute while I think, no.........................sorry.

[DoubleX]

Helton has consistently put up some impressive numbers and is a very good fielder to boot. But I would like to see, while he's still in his prime, what he's capable of doing with a different home ballpark. Another thing going against him is that he'll be 32 this year and doesn't even have 1400 hits yet. You'd think he'd have more with his .339 career average, and it's possible that he could finish his career without even reaching 2000 hits.

Since Coors Field is such a factor when assessing Helton's ability, here are his home/away splits for the past two seasons:

2004
Home: .368, 21, 60, .490 OBP, .693 Slg, 1.183 OPS (277 AB)
Away: .326, 11, 36, .446 OBP, .446 Slg, 0.992 OPS (270 AB)

2003
Home: .391, 23, 72, .480 OBP, .739 Slg, 1.219 OPS (299 AB)
Away: .324, 10, 45, .435 OBP, .514 Slg, 0.949 OPS (284 AB)

It's pretty clear that Coors Field is giving Helton a big all-around boost, especially in the power categories. However, his numbers on the road are still extremely good by any measure. I think the road numbers show that Helton is legitimately an excellent hitter and player, Coors field just makes him look out of this world.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Coors this, Coors that, everybody thinks just because Todd Helton plays in Coors he isn't a good hitter. Check out the away numbers, he hits well everywhere! The best hitters who played for the Rockies were all good after they left, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker, and Andres Galarraga. Larry Walker is the only guy out of these that will make the hall, but if the others had better numbers, they still wouldn't make the hall, all because they played in Coors. Todd Helton is HOF material but will he make it? No.

[west coast orange and black]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Braves Freak

...Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker, and Andres Galarraga...

the same walker with an at-times 100-point home/away differential?
anyway, i think that it's too soon to seriously talk about helton and the hall.

[csh19792001]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Braves Freak

Coors this, Coors that, everybody thinks just because Todd Helton plays in Coors he isn't a good hitter. Check out the away numbers, he hits well everywhere! The best hitters who played for the Rockies were all good after they left, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker, and Andres Galarraga. Larry Walker is the only guy out of these that will make the hall, but if the others had better numbers, they still wouldn't make the hall, all because they played in Coors. Todd Helton is HOF material but will he make it? No.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...home_and_away_

Use his road rate stats (and double his counting stats)....

I don't think you come up with a Hall of Famer (yet). He could have a great next 7-10 years, though, and build up his case.

[Brad Harris]

Ask me again after the 2006 season, when he'll actually have met the minimum eligibility requirements (10 years in MLB.) Presently, I'd have to say he's on track, but not likely to remain so.

[Naliamegod]

Baring a disaster... yes. As someone shown, he's a great hitter all around despite coors.

[Aegis]

As of now, borderline. He needs to keep on a very solid pace to make a good case for himself, though. Also, regardless of the park, .339 is a dang fine BA to have.

[iPod]

Originally Posted by csh19792001

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...home_and_away_

Use his road rate stats (and double his counting stats)....

I don't think you come up with a Hall of Famer (yet). He could have a great next 7-10 years, though, and build up his case.

162 averages outside of Coors Field...

.298/.394/.526
171 hits
44 doubles
2 triples
28 home runs
94 RBI
90 walks
88 strikeouts

So Helton's definitely doing damage outside of Coors, but yeah, Coors is making him look much better than he really is. .298 with 28 homers, 94 RBI, and solid fielding at first base is great, but I dunno... you don't really get amped up about putting a guy like that into the Hall of Fame, especially for a slow first baseman in this day and age.

Coors Field really makes some weird splits though. Vinny Castilla from last year is pretty odd.

At home, he hit .321/.379/.575 with 14 homers and 80 RBI. On the road, he hit .218/.281/.493 with 21 homers and 51 RBI. Talk about swinging for the fences.

[Naliamegod]

Considering that road numbers are normally lower then home numbers.. It's safe to say that Helton would be a consistent 30-35 homerun hitter in any other park.

[mac195]

Yes. Helton is definately on the road to the HOF, but he has a long way to go, and he got off to a bit of a late start. He didn't become a regular until age 24, or a good player until age 26. His last 5 years have been great though. Five more years like that, and he'll start to have a pretty good case, especially considering his stellar defense. I don't think it is fair to just double his road numbers. Rockies hitters are at a slight disadvantage on the road because they aren't used to seeing really good breaking stuff at high altitude.They suffer from a "rocky road effect", which should be taken into consideration.

[HDH]

Good Question: He's the best 1B in the game but, that didn't help Steve Garvey. So far, I think so.

[J W]

Originally Posted by iPod

At home, he hit .321/.379/.575 with 14 homers and 80 RBI. On the road, he hit .218/.281/.493 with 21 homers and 51 RBI. Talk about swinging for the fences.

Originally Posted by Naliamegod

Considering that road numbers are normally lower then home numbers.. It's safe to say that Helton would be a consistent 30-35 homerun hitter in any other park.

Some people theorize that because the ball behaves so drastically different at Coors, that road splits at Coors are actually WORSE than normal for players... not as much as the boost in home splits, but when Rockies go on the road they're disrupted by what they're not used to.

[rich]

Larry Walker hit a league lowest .133 on the road the year he seperated his shoulder. I had him on my fantasy team & remember spewing many an invective his way. It was '96. Larry hit .276 overall so he musta hit a boatload at Coors.

[BoSox Rule]

Originally Posted by rich

Larry Walker hit a league lowest .133 on the road the year he seperated his shoulder. I had him on my fantasy team & remember spewing many an invective his way. It was '96. Larry hit .276 overall so he musta hit a boatload at Coors.

1996- Larry Walker
HOME- .393/.448/.800/1.248/12 HR/45 RBI
AWAY- .142/.216/.307/.523/6 HR/13 RBI

CAREER
HOME- .349/.431/.641/206 HR/721 HR (.383/.463/.713/1.176/154 HR/520 RBI AT COORS)
AWAY- .279/.372/.497/.869/162 HR/538 RBI

[antihipster]

While his numbers are out of sight, it would help if he gets traded at some point and prove his record in another home ballpark. This could be a major factor.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by iPod

162 averages outside of Coors Field...

.298/.394/.526
171 hits
44 doubles
2 triples
28 home runs
94 RBI
90 walks
88 strikeouts

So Helton's definitely doing damage outside of Coors, but yeah, Coors is making him look much better than he really is. .298 with 28 homers, 94 RBI, and solid fielding at first base is great, but I dunno... you don't really get amped up about putting a guy like that into the Hall of Fame, especially for a slow first baseman in this day and age.

Coors Field really makes some weird splits though. Vinny Castilla from last year is pretty odd.

At home, he hit .321/.379/.575 with 14 homers and 80 RBI. On the road, he hit .218/.281/.493 with 21 homers and 51 RBI. Talk about swinging for the fences.

Those are fine numbers however we must look at them in context of his era. A .526 career slugging percentage in this era is NOT impressive. He is playing in the same era as Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, and MArk McGwire.

Again, here are Helton's road stats per 162 road games:

.298/.394/.526
171 hits
44 doubles
2 triples
28 home runs
94 RBI
90 walks
88 strikeouts
89 runs

Here are stats for contemporary first baseman per 162 road games:

.283/.375/.532
151 hits
37 doubles
3 triples
30 HRs
102 RBI
79 BB
102 K
85 runs

Player B is pretty good match for Helton. However player B will NEVER be considered for the HoF! I'll leave it as a contest to see who can determine who player B is.

[playbyplay]

Todd has got to get out of Colorado if he wants to get any respect. He's a good hitter, end of question. If he left and played with Tampa Bay, he'd still be a good hitter. He'd probably bust out with 30-35 Homers, .310-.320 batting average, 110-115 RBI's but he wouldn't touch 40-45 Homers or a batting average over .350. Coor's has taken a hold upon the slugger.
The good thing is that he's young enough to have another 6-8 fine years. If he left Colorado and produced with another team, I think we'd have to consider him. Imagine if he ends up playing his entire career with Colorado? He'd have a lifetime batting average of .335-.340 to go along with 550-600 Home runs! As much as Colorado help's his power numbers, you still got to hit the damn pitch and find a hole in the defense!
I think he needs to leave Colorado for people to really respect the guy, but he'll be a HOF'er with eight more solid years. Just look at all the other players that played in Hitter-friendly parks. Why don't we talk about them?
Todd Helton- Great Hitter regardless of what people say. He COULD be a HOF'er with eight more strong seasons.

Jacob

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Todd Helton is a good hitter. Paul Konerko is a good hitter. Tim Salmon is (was?) a good hitter. Ryan Klesko is a good hitter. Todd Helton is NOT a great hitter.

Helto has a higher career batting average AND slugging percentage (slugging is 4th all-time!) than Barry Bonds. His OBP is only 11 points lower than Bonds. Does anyone really thing he is as good as Barry Bonds? He has the dual fortune of playing in the most extreme hitter's park in baseball history AND in one of the great offensive eras in baseball history. I'm sorry but Helton is a fraud. His numbers do not represent his true ability as a hitter. He is the modern day Hack Wilson and Chuck Klein. If he left Coors Field he would become Paul Konerko and Ryan Klesko. Are they HoFers?

If Helton makes the HoF, I think I will be...

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by playbyplay

I think he needs to leave Colorado for people to really respect the guy, but he'll be a HOF'er with eight more solid years. Just look at all the other players that played in Hitter-friendly parks. Why don't we talk about them?

We do. Helton is the modern day Hack Wilson and Chuck Klein, players that played in extreme hitter's parks. And what happened to them when they left their little band boxes?

[antihipster]

With my OPS version of my Era Adjustment Value {EAV}[ops/league ops : Read the rating of as 100 being average in the league, and above 100% being above average. A great number is 120%+.] Helton has some pretty healthy figures until you factor in the ballpark equation, then he takes quite a fall.

Helton's OPS EAV minus the ballpark adjusment is an astonishing 138.624.
Once you factor in the ballpark adjustment, he nosedives down to a slightly better than average 114.471.

Asides, Helton has played only 8 years, so it seems too early to even think of this HOF status.

In the future, the hall of fame electorate are going to refer to sabermetrics, especially towards players in Colarodo.

My vote, a loud NO!

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Originally Posted by antihipster

With my OPS version of my Era Adjustment Value {EAV}[ops/league ops : Read the rating of as 100 being average in the league, and above 100% being above average. A great number is 120%+.] Helton has some pretty healthy figures until you factor in the ballpark equation, then he takes quite a fall.

Helton's OPS EAV minus the ballpark adjusment is an astonishing 138.624.
Once you factor in the ballpark adjustment, he nosedives down to a slightly better than average 114.471.

Asides, Helton has played only 8 years, so it seems too early to even think of this HOF status.

In the future, the hall of fame electorate are going to refer to sabermetrics, especially towards players in Colarodo.

My vote, a loud NO!

I agree.

[Roy Hobbs]

I don't think Helton is as good as Barry Bonds but it's an act of delusion to believe Bonds would be anywhere near that on base percentage if he had protection in the lineup.

With Moises Alou coming into play I expect Bonds BA will drop down to the .285-.305 level that is really what Bonds is capable of hitting (yes, he's got a good eye, but the guy has a lifetime BA of .300, he's not Ted Williams and never has been) and his OBP will drop to the low .500s or high .400s.