People Who Should be in the Hall of Fame: Todd Helton

Todd Helton may be one of the best players to play the game of baseball since the year 2000. Unfortunately, throughout his career (and mostly during his prime) he was overshadowed by players who were putting up other worldly numbers. However, by analyzing statistics, I believe he should be a Hall of Famer. This article will show you why.




Hitting

The first reason why Todd Helton should be a Hall of Famer is because of his ability to hit the ball greatly. Helton has a career average of .316 which put him in company with names like Clemente, Greenberg, and Robinson. He is actually has the same average as Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner and Roger Connor (the homerun king before Babe Ruth). He is in the top 175 players all time (Including pitchers) in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and has a better WAR than Harmon Killebrew and Yogi Berra, who are both Hall of Famers. Not only is he a good contact hitter, because he has 369 career homeruns. That is more homeruns than Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, and Edgar Martinez. One last statistic is that he is 26th all time in on-base-percentage with an incredible rate of .414. This is better than tons of hall of famers such as Honus Wagner and Tony Gwynn. If you just look at these stats you would think that Todd Helton should be a Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, he peaked at a time of steroid use causing his numbers to seem not as amazing as others. In 2002, Todd Helton finished 7th in the batting title race putting up a .329 average on the year. Three people ahead of him, however, have been suspected of taking steroids. So by subtraction without those people he would finish fourth (much better than seventh). Let's do this again. In 2001, Todd Helton finished tied for fifth in the homerun title race. If you take out people who were suspected of taking steroids he would finish tied for first. Actually, Todd Helton is the only player in the top ten who has never been accused of taking steroids. His innocence should be rewarded and he should be put in the Hall of Fame.





Fielding

Todd Helton is an exceptional fielder. His fielding percentage is good enough for 6th all-time for first baseman. That is better than Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Ernie Banks, and Eddie Murray. Not only that but he is second in assists as a first baseman all-time. He is actually the only lefty to have over 1700 assists. He has more assists than HOF's George Sisler, Jimmie Foxx, Willie Mccovey.





Overall Prediction

Going on the ballot in 2018, I think that he will be elected in after seven years. In that seven years, more people from the early 2000s will be found guilty of taking steroids. To reward his innocence, Todd will be elected into the Hall of Fame.