Am I A Hall of Famer? – Todd Helton

Today I was looking at who were considered the best players in baseball this decade.  One of the names I saw in the top ten surprised me.  I had always felt Todd Helton was seriously underrated but now after I look at his career I begin to wonder, is he Hall of Fame material?  ESPN listed him as the 8th best player this decade and cites the following:

“With the exception of 2008, Helton just plowed through the decade with impressive production, even accounting for his home ballpark. And he’s been underrated with the glove.” – Rob Neyer, ESPN

Of course there are going to be some nay sayers out there and are going to discount his best statistical seasons.  His name did come up with respect to steroids, but they never linked him to it and I figure if they couldn’t do that then maybe he was clean.  He has always denied using it and I tend to believe him.  But take a look at his early career:

After the 2003 season his home run totals dropped, but he remained an incredibly consistent hitter.  When you look at 1999 – 2003 he had to be one of the most feared hitters in baseball.  With an OBP of over 0.425, he was getting on base nearly half of his at bats and with the hitters that were around him, pitchers felt they had to pitch to him.  The remainder of his career looks like this:

He is now 36 years old and is signed through 2012, meaning that he might very well retire after the 2012 season at 39. Which means that 3000 hits isn’t a possibility, and he probably won’t get over 400 homers.  However, when you look at his three Gold Gloves, five All Star selections, and four Silver Sluggers he deserves at least consideration.  Now throw in the fact that he is a career 0.328 hitter and his career OBP is 0.427, now you get an idea of why I think he has a shot.

I know that I am probably in the minority here, but players of lesser quality have gotten in.  In his prime, he was one of the 5 best players in the game and this decade he is listed as the 8th best.  So in the end I think he might just be worthy.  What do you think?

As far as his cards go, his autograph can be had fairly inexpensively.  Although I saw several listings for around $15 – $20, I also so quite a few going for under $5.  The card below is one of my favorites  of his and can be had for less than $5.  I think it’s a shame his cards aren’t worth more, but I guess that is what happens when you play for a small market team your entire career.