One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the 10th of the series:
10. Todd Helton
Todd Helton never won the Most Valuable Player Award, but was the top National League batter in Box-Toppers points twice and among the top three NL batters four seasons in a row.
Todd Helton
Here are Todd Helton's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | col nl | 0.0 | |
| 1998 | col nl | 7.5 | |
| 1999 | col nl | 14.7 | BTP-12, BTP-NL bat-2 |
| 2000 | col nl | 15.2 | AS, BTP-11, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-5 |
| 2001 | col nl | 17.0 | AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL bat-1, MVP-9 |
| 2002 | col nl | 14.0 | AS, BTP-15, BTP-NL bat-3, MVP-19 |
| 2003 | col nl | 11.0 | AS, BTP-32, BTP-NL bat-6, MVP-7 |
| 2004 | col nl | 6.5 | AS, BTP-126, BTP-NL bat-32, MVP-16 |
| 2005 | col nl | 6.5 | |
| 2006 | col nl | 4.5 | |
| 2007 | col nl | 5.5 | |
| 2008 | col nl | 2.0 | |
| 2009 | col nl | 4.0 | BTP-259, BTP-NL bat-66, MVP-13 |
| 2010 | col nl | 2.0 | |
| 2011 | col nl | 4.5 | |
| 2012 | col nl | 0.0 | |
| 2013 | col nl | 1.5 | |
| Total | 116.4 | BTP-33, BTP-bat-12 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Helton, who retired at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 40, spent his entire 17-year Major League career with the Colorado Rockies. He had 116.4 career Box-Toppers points, ranking third among first basemen in the “all-time” Box-Toppers list (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). Ahead of him on the first baseman list—Albert Pujols (159.8) and Carlos Delgado (117.7).
Helton ranks 12th among all batters on Box-Toppers “all-time” list and 33rd among all players.
Helton’s most impressive period of his career was a four-season stretch from 1999 to 2002, when he was among the top three NL batters in Box-Toppers points and was the top batter two straight years, 2000 and 2001:
• In 1999, he had 14.7 Box-Toppers points, ranking second among NL batters and 12th among all players. He finished just behind Barry Bonds of the Giants (15.2). Chipper Jones of the Braves was voted NL MVP. He had 9.7 Box-Toppers points, 16th among NL batters. Helton received no MVP votes in 1999.
• In 2000, he had 15.2 Box-Toppers points, ranking first among NL batters and 11th among all players. (Gary Sheffield of the Dodgers was second among NL batters with 14.2.) Jeff Kent of the Giants, who was voted NL MVP, had 12.9 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters. Helton finished fifth in NL MVP voting.
• In 2001, Helton’s best season, he had 17.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking first among NL batters and ninth among all players. (Chipper Jones of the Braves was second among NL batters with 16.7.) However, Helton finished ninth in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds of the Giants, who won the award, had 15.5 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL batters.
• In 2002, he had 14.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking third among NL batters and 15th among all players. He finished 19th in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds, who won NL MVP voting, was also Box-Toppers’ NL batting leader with 20.7 points.
Other career highlights for Helton:
• In 2003, he had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, ranking sixth among NL batters, 32nd among all players. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting.
• In 2004, he had 6.5 Box-Toppers points, ranking 32nd among NL batters and 126th among all players and finished 16th in NL MVP voting.
• In 2009, while he finished 13th in NL MVP voting, he had only 4.0 Box-Toppers points, 66th among NL batters and 259th among all players.
Helton had five consecutive seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points (1999-2003), including two seasons with 15.0 or more (2000 and 2001).
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Coming next in the series: Barry Zito
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte