Todd Helton, Retired

Date of Birth: 8/20/1973
Birthplace: Knoxville, Tennessee
College: University of Tennessee

Todd Helton, retired first baseman for the Colorado Rockies, played his entire career in the major leagues with the Rockies. He ws a power hitter for the Rockies.

Helton showed his batting prowess while still in high school, batting .655 in his senior year. The Rockies, recognizing his talent, drafted Helton in 1995. He spent only two years in the minor leagues, making his major league debut in the beginning of August, 1997. A year later, Helton was in the Rockies' starting lineup, playing at first base, a position he has held since then. Although Helton was surprisingly not named Rookie of the Year, he set several rookie records for 1998, including:

• highest batting average with .315
• most home runs with 25
• most RBIs with 97
• most multi-hit games with 49
• highest slugging percentage with .530

Helton was consistently a top hitter for the Rockies from his first full season in 1998, batting over .300 in 12 seasons. Helton, who was also an excellent fielder, won three National League Gold Glove awards (2001, 2002, 2004). His hitting skills earned him four Silver Slugger awards (2000-2003).

Helton retired from major league baseball after the 2013 season.

Helton's statistics for his 16 seasons in the major leagues include:

• 12 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .372 in 2000
• 8 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 49 in 2001
• 11 seasons with over 35 doubles, with a high of 59 in 2000
• 4 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with highs of 146 in 2001 and 147 in 2000

Career statistics for Helton through 2012 include:

• 2,123 games played
• 2,420 hits
• 354 home runs
• 570 doubles
• 1,295 RBIs
• 1,295 walks to 1088 strikeouts

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Todd Helton
ESPN Sports - Todd Helton