Helton had ‘it’ and more to get to Cooperstown
Rockies’ Hurdle didn’t manage a ‘fiercer competitor’
By Steve Williams
Todd Helton was seen often with a dark beard when he played for the Colorado Rockies.
But former manager Clint Hurdle remembers a “baby-faced kid” the first time he saw Todd in the mid-1990s “and we’re still best friends today – almost 30 years later.
“I watched him go from dating Christy to marrying Christy to having a daughter with Christy. I knew his dad Jerry. I knew his mom. I’ve known his family. So personally, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to develop a relationship that’s turned into a deep friendship.
“Professionally,” added Hurdle, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who was a fiercer competitor on the field.”
And he was the same way in football too when he played for the Central Bobcats and Tennessee Vols. He was a winner even back in those days. And to this reporter he seemed to be one of those athletes who just had that ‘it’ thing.
But baseball won out for Helton and this coming Sunday (July 21) he will be rewarded with its greatest gift – his place in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
From Fountain City to Cooperstown, N.Y. It’s not only an honor for the Helton family, but for Knoxville, too.
It’s definitely a special place. Over some 120 years, there are only 273 players in the Hall of Fame.
A first baseman, Helton was drafted in 1995 in the first round to the Colorado Rockies and was the No. 8 overall pick.
Helton, now 50, and Christy have two daughters – Tierney Faith, 21, and Gentry Grace.
What made Helton a Hall of Fame caliber type player?
“Well, you mentioned it,” said Hurdle, who managed the Rockies for eight seasons (2002-09), which included the 2007 World Series. “Todd had ‘it.’ I think he showed up with ‘it,’ but he never left ‘it’ alone. He kept working at ‘it.’
“He had an intense desire every time he took the field to beat the other team’s ass. He was relentless in his approach. He was relentless in his work. He wasn’t on one side of the ball. It wasn’t only hitting.
“He read somewhere that he was defensively below average, and as soon as he read that, from that day on he was going to be defensively above average and he became just that.
“And also from my vantage point – it’s my 48th year in the game – the elite have a discipline above and beyond what most people have,” continued Hurdle. “A discipline to push themselves, a discipline to demand more of themselves. Most of them lead by action, some of them lead by words. Todd was an action guy, a preparation guy. If you watched him work, it became contagious.
“Todd would say: ‘If he can work that hard, why can’t I?’ Todd never settled for anything, like ‘Okay, I’m good enough. I need to take a break’ or ‘My swings are where they need to be. I’m just going to stop. I’m going to take a break.’ … Every day he fought and worked to get a little bit better.”
Statistically, some of Helton’s numbers are mind-boggling. Do you have a number that comes to mind or a particular statistic on him that really amazes you?
“If you just look at the numbers from the 2000 season,” said Hurdle. “I mean the numbers from the 2000 season are silly. They’re almost like Nintendo game board numbers.”
That season, the 6-2, 220-pound Helton, a lefty-lefty, hit .372 in 160 games, with 59 doubles, 42 home runs, 147 RBI and 138 runs. And all that would make today’s fantasy game players just drool.
“I do kind of chuckle at people who try to poke holes in the numbers because Todd played at Coors Field,” said Hurdle. “Well he didn’t have any other option! That’s where he had to play. It’s the team he was with.
“And I really think if you peel back the layers and look at his road numbers – they’re as good as, if not better, than many of the first basemen that are already in the Hall of Fame.”
That’s a good point.
“Oh I can make some good points because I got tired of hearing the weak points from people that didn’t watch him do it every day,” added Hurdle. “I was there for most of it.”
Helton hurt his back a couple of different times
After his first season with Colorado in 1997, Helton went 10 straight seasons without batting under .300. He hit .264 in the 2008 season and then had back surgery. Then he bounced back and hit .325. That was really impressive.
“Well, he hit .264 when most people wouldn’t have even showed up and played,” said Hurdle.
That’s Todd Helton isn’t it?
“Exactly,” answered Clint.
What do you recall about Helton’s relationship with the fans of the Rockies?
“I think he was humbled by the fact that he was a fan favorite,” said Hurdle. “I don’t think it’s something he hung his hat on. I think he was very appreciative that they recognized hard work. They recognized commitment. They recognized the fact that he was proud to be a Rockie.
“I think he sealed the deal in the winter of 2006 when there was talk of a trade to Boston,” continued Hurdle. “Todd went in to the ownership and told them, ‘You guys do what you need to do, but I would prefer to stay here. I think we’ve got young people on the rise and I think the best days are in front of us and it would mean so much more to me to be part of a winner here than it would be anywhere else.’
“I think that’s when the love affair became an infatuation; because he could have gone anywhere,” pointed out Hurdle. “He could have gone to Boston and ended up playing them (the Rockies) in the World Series the following year. But he let everybody know that needed to know that he preferred to stay in Colorado. He put his foot down here and he wasn’t finished with his business here.”
That’s what really sealed the deal with the fans and their relationship with Todd. In this day and age of the player going wherever the dollar is, he chose to stay where his roots were professionally.
Statistics are baseball’s tell-all
“You wanted one stat and I’m going to give you one stat,” said Hurdle. “Only seven other players, besides Helton, own a .316 batting average, .414 on-base percentage and .539 slugging percentage. The others are Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. All of them, except for current Los Angeles Angels’ Puljois, are in the Hall of Fame.”
What an honor to be in that group!
A five-time All-Star, Helton also finished his career with 592 doubles, 369 homers, 1,401 runs scored, 1,406 RBI and more walks (1,335) than strikeouts (1,175).
Helton wore No. 17 and played 17 years with the Rockies.
“That’s not a coincidence,” said Hurdle. “I call them God winks.”
Tributes to the ‘Toddfather’
By Steve Williams
With Todd Helton being inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame this coming Sunday, The Focus is repeating comments from its eight-part series congratulating the Central High and University of Tennessee baseball standout.
Bud Bales was Helton’s head coach in baseball at Central when the Bobcats’ 1990 team won the TSSAA state championship with a 31-0 record.
“Todd was quite a very diligent type athlete,” said Bales. “He wanted to get better and he worked at it hard to be as good as he could be. And like this situation here (going into the Hall of Fame), it’s paid off. He’s one of the best in the world as far as a baseball player.”
Jon Miller coached Todd in baseball and football at CHS, assisting Coach Bales on the diamond and coordinating Coach Joel Helton’s defense.
“Todd is in the Hall of Fame because he batted .316 for his career,” said Coach Miller. “His whole deal was he hit line drives. I mean he hit angry balls in gaps. He could just crush it … His home runs were just missiles when he hit it out … You could hear the ball hiss when it came off his bat.
“Football-wise … I always said he’s a quarterback with a linebacker’s mentality. He loved to mix it up and get into the action.”
Andy Bolton recalled a scout picking out that ‘little sophomore.’
“Opening day we’re playing Doyle High School at Fountain City and there were probably 30 to 40 scouts from everywhere behind home plate,” said Andy. “Central had a lot of success in the 1980s and four or five of us seniors had started since our sophomore year and were projected to be college baseball players.
“In that game, my dad (Scott) mingled through those scouts to kind of listen to what they were saying – we had been through the lineup a couple of times – and the Clemson scout said: ‘Well, there’s a lot of good seniors on this team, but my favorite player is that little sophomore leadoff batter named Helton. That kid is going to be a great player.’”
High school teammate and pitcher Chris Freeman was asked what kind of guy Todd was off the field?
“I heard a guy talking about Todd the other day,” said Freeman. “He said it perfectly. Todd didn’t want the spotlight. Todd just wanted to go and do his work and be done with it. He’d rather go fishing or be out and away. He used to go to his grandmother’s house a lot, so he liked that part of it. I always respected that of Todd. You know … Anybody could have bragged about how good they were; he never did.”
Brent Walker was the catcher and captain on the 1990 CHS team.
“When I talk with my teammates and we’re gathered around, we all had that feeling that Todd would make it. We knew who we were playing with and how good he was. We really felt like he would succeed at UT and wherever he went; that he probably would be a major league baseball player. We were smart enough to know that.
“Hall of Fame? I mean that’s just something that is few and far between, but after now that it’s happened; you can look back and say, yeah he is. I mean we knew he was a Hall of Fame type of player. But we would never let Todd know that. We were the type of guys that I feel like we made him work harder.”
Steve Searcy, one of six Central High graduates who have played in the major leagues, believes Todd Helton’s Hall of Fame career could be an inspiration to others, including Fountain City and Knoxville youngsters.
“For the kids around here, look at what Todd did. Look at his numbers and the career that he had. Dream big, you could be next.”
Longtime college baseball coach Bill Mosellio, who worked with Todd at Tennessee and after he had back issues with the Colorado Rockies, named one of his sons after Helton.
“I was so proud of the person he was and the great worker that he was,” said Mosiello. “He’s an amazing competitor and I mentioned earlier about his character and politeness. He was everything that you want your kid to be.”
