Last month, The APBA Blog featured Todd Helton’s 2001 card. It was a well-deserving card but some might think that this 2000 card would be an equally deserving match. Pastor Rich certainly did and suggested it for this week.
Indeed, Helton had a banner year for Colorado in 2000. With 42, he was eight homeruns away from the triple crown. As it was, he led the NL in batting (.372) and rbis (147). His 59 doubles, 216 hits and .698 slugging percentage also led the National League.
| Voti | Voti | Voti | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | Batt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 1 | Jeff Kent | SFG | 392.0 | 22.0 | 88% | 159 | 587 | 114 | 196 | 33 | 125 | 12 | 90 | .334 | .424 | .596 | 1.021 |
| 2 | Barry Bonds | SFG | 279.0 | 6.0 | 62% | 143 | 480 | 129 | 147 | 49 | 106 | 11 | 117 | .306 | .440 | .688 | 1.127 |
| 3 | Mike Piazza | NYM | 271.0 | 3.0 | 60% | 136 | 482 | 90 | 156 | 38 | 113 | 4 | 58 | .324 | .398 | .614 | 1.012 |
| 4 | Jim Edmonds | STL | 208.0 | 0.0 | 46% | 152 | 525 | 129 | 155 | 42 | 108 | 10 | 103 | .295 | .411 | .583 | .994 |
| 5 | Todd Helton | COL | 198.0 | 1.0 | 44% | 160 | 580 | 138 | 216 | 42 | 147 | 5 | 103 | .372 | .463 | .698 | 1.162 |
How Todd Helton ended up fifth in the NL MVP voting that year is beyond me.
That was the year Jeff Kent edged Barry Bonds for the award. Helton topped the top four vote-getters in most offensive categories including BA, SLG, OBP, runs, rbis, and doubles. Only Bonds had more homers among the top four. For those wondering, Sammy Sosa led the league with 50 homers and didn’t place in the top five.
You can see three of Helton’s homers from the 2000 season here:
Helton’s 2000 stats
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Totals | 160 | 697 | 580 | 138 | 216 | 59 | 2 | 42 | 147 | 5 | 103 | 61 | .372 | .463 | .698 |
The first thing I thought when I saw this card was, “The defensive team better be careful with a runner on third”. With power numbers 1-1-6-6-6, he will have five chances to hit a homerun in that base situation. I know when it comes to card creation, APBA is more concerned about getting the double and homerun accuracy correct rather than than the triple. This is the best call, I think especially with a player like Todd Helton.
In addition, 2000 Helton has a 55-7 and a 15-10 (to replicate five steals). Most importantly, he has five 14s including a juicy 26-14. He’s a firstbaseman so he comes with a 46-41 (also juicy!).
The 41 and 37 result numbers throw a wrench into predicting the batting averages for firstbasemen. My guess is that this card will hit around .360. Maybe slightly higher because of the 61-22.
I was a little surprise to see the 1B-4 fielding rating. The year 2000 was Helton’s third full season. It is notable that in 2001, APBA upped Helton’s fielding rating to 1B-5 where I think it stayed for a few years.
Awesome card. Thanks Rich!!
I have to disagree with your view that 1-1-6-6-6 is the “best call” . Not because of triples, but because Helton had 5.4 extra base hits per plate attempt. Not doing a double column card with a 55-0 shorts Todd almost half an extra base hit.
Just my 2 cents.
Hi Tom,
Todd also had 405 total bases and over 100 extra base hits. Something he also did the next year (2001). I believe he is the only player to have two such years consecutively in MLB history.