The Rockies and Todd Helton agree on a two-year, $9 million extension. He’s also deferring money, I assume, in an effort to help the Rockies win a World Series title before Todd retires.
“We view him in the same way as a Cal Ripken, George Brett and Tony Gwynn. He’s a Rockie, and a Hall of Famer we believe,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said today. “We felt like a player of this caliber and what he means to us that this is something we didn’t want to take to the end. And he was so open-minded it working with us. It was something that made sense, and it’s great for the fans to be able to celebrate him and know he will be here.”
O’Dowd also told The Post that Helton will have a role with the Rockies following his retirement, though no specifics have been discussed.
I like the deal. Helton doesn’t have the power he once did, but he still gets on base well. He represents the Colorado franchise, and it’s nice to see both the team and player finding a way to help the team win and keep a great player happy.
Hat tip, Purple Row.
One of the few cases where a player drops money for the team he cares about.
Would you put Helton in the HOF?
@bureaucratist: Helton is a .300-.400-.500 player and any hitter like that should get Hall of Fame consideration. He did get a huge boost from Coors Field, however. Would you put in a player with a career .294/.395/.489 line? It’s very good, and the .395 OBP might get him there anyway. His overall numbers, however, have to be taken with a grain of salt.
@David Pinto: I have difficulty accounting for park effects like these. They don’t seem to have diminished, for example, Mel Ott’s reputation as a great player, and however Coors helped him Helton still got those this, and drove in those runs, in a major-league game. He’s a really close call, I think.