Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton recorded the 2,500 hit of his career on Sunday, hitting a line drive double down the third base line against the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Todd Helton collects 2,500th career hit
Helton has the fifth-most hits among active major-leaguers.
Dustin Bradford
The 40-year-old ranks 96th on the all-time hit list, trailing Jimmy Ryan for No. 95 by 13 hits. Helton has the fifth most hits amongst active major-leaguers, behind Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki and Manny Ramirez.
The first baseman had an impressive five-season peak, averaging 6.9 WAR per season from 2000-2004. Helton has been inconsistent since 2008, but provided the Rockies with solid offense value as recently as 2011, when he hit .302/.385/.466. The veteran has had a disappointing 2013 campaign, entering Sunday batting .252/.319/.404.
Helton's Hall of Fame Case
Despite a disappointing second act, was his peak value long and high enough to lift him over the threshold? Helton’s contract will expire at the end of the 2013 and he will likely retire at the end of the year; he told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN that it “would be a pretty good guess” to assume that this will be his final season in the big leagues.
Helton has been with the Rockies for all 17 seasons of his major-league career, and is franchise leader for many offensive statistical categories, including most hits (2,500), doubles (584), home runs (365), walks (1,329), and runs batted in (1,393).
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