肯米的棒球天空

文：肯米

還記得打擊教科書Todd Helton嗎？這位在洛磯隊打了１７年之久，去年年底宣布說要退休時，許多球迷都覺得很惋惜，而球團也希望在Helton生日（８月２０日）之前，將他的球衣成為隊史第一位退休球衣的號碼，１７號，以表揚他在洛磯隊打這麼久的貢獻。

he Colorado Rockies will retire Todd Helton's No. 17 uniform during a pregame ceremony in August, according to Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports. Helton, who hung up his cleats after the 2013 season, will be the first player to have his number retired by the team in honor of his time in a Rockies jersey.

Helton spent his entire career, which coincidentally lasted 17 years, in Colorado. He is the Rockies' career leader in games played, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, home runs,
walks, sacrifice flies and bWAR. The ceremony to retire his number will occur on Aug. 17, three days before his 41st birthday.

The Rockies have retired two other numbers in the past, but Helton's will be the first tribute based on an individual's Colorado playing career. Jackie Robinson's No. 42 is honored by every team in the majors, and pitcher Darryl Kile's No. 57 was retired when the 33-year-old hurler, then a member of the Cardinals, passed away unexpectedly after suffering a heart attack during the 2002 season.

－－－－－－－－－－－

Colorado Rockies blog Purple Row

During Helton's prime, the five-time All Star was one of the best hitters in the game. His natural talent, combined with the explosive offensive environment of Coors Field, allowed him to reach gaudy career-highs of 49 home runs, 147 RBI, 138 runs, 59 doubles, 216 hits and 127 walks in various years. In 2000, he batted .372/.463/.698, although the fact that his MLB-leading 1162 OPS translated to only a 163 OPS+ provides context about his home park and the era in which he played.

Helton五次進入明星賽，他曾經在２０００年敲出單季最高的４９支全壘打，以及１４７分打點，１３８得分，單季５９支二壘安打，２１６支安打及１２７次保送，當年三圍成績為０。３７２打擊率，０。４６３的上壘率和０。６９８的長打率，當年ｏｐｓ＋是少有的１６３，超恐怖的選手。

Helton's overall body of work will likely put him on the fringe of the Hall of Fame debate. He racked up 369 home runs and 2,519 hits, batted 316/.414/.539,  walked 160 more times than he struck out and earned three
Gold Gloves at first base. Baseball-Reference values his career at 61.3 bWAR,which is right around average for a Hall of Fame first baseman, but he will have to overcome the perception that he was a product of Coors Field (1048 career OPS at home, 855 on the road) in order to gain enshrinement. The team reached the playoffs only twice during his tenure, but he did help lead Colorado to its first World Series berth in 2007. Although the Rockies got swept in that Series by Boston, Helton hit .333 with a pair of doubles.

 

Helton總共在生涯中敲出３６９支全壘打和２５１９支安打，打擊三圍為打擊率０。３１６，上壘率０。４１４和長打率０。５３９，保送比三振次數多１６０次的他生涯的bWAR是６１.３。

Helton曾經在１９９９年面對馬林魚隊打出完全打擊，這十七年在洛基的表現可說是可圈可點，包括去年已經邁入４０歲的他替球隊效力１２４場還有１５支全壘打的表現，這種打擊功力並不是人人都有的。

Helton在洛磯隊史上絕對可以被記上一筆，也因此各隊除了４２號球衣共同被退休後，洛磯的球衣首次被退休的選手，非Helton莫屬了。