Todd Helton walks so Joey Votto can run
This post comes from Trevor Brofft. He is a recent college graduate from University of Arizona who currently works as a marketing representative for Caterpillar. Trevor has a passion for sports and most importantly, the Cincinnati Reds.
Todd Helton, last week, received 79.7% of the votes to be inducted into the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame. This was Helton's 6th year on the ballot, going over 75% and finally getting his enshrinement into baseball lore. When elected, he will become the 28th first baseman, which is tied with right field for most by non-pitchers in the Hall. How is this a good sign for Joey Votto's chances at Cooperstown? Well by many accounts the two have similar careers, there is a strong argument that Joey surpasses Todd with relative ease (and we may see more of Votto in 2024).
First off, these guys have both had incredible careers and this is not at all to point out flaws in the greatness of Todd Helton. With that being said, let's get started talking about the hardware they collected. The lifetime Rockie racked up 5 All-Star appearances, 4 Silver Sluggers, and 3 Gold Gloves. The former Reds second round pick has 6 All-Star nods, a lone Gold Glove and of course the 2010 NL MVP award. These achievements are a testament to how great these hitters were. Every reminder that Joey Votto has 0 Silver Slugger is just as wild as the last time. Todd Helton and Joey Votto's careers have a 7 season overlap but they never made an All Star team together due to the mismatched primes. There is just a 1 All Star game difference, while Helton has the edge in the positional accolades. When looking at all that they were able to accumulate across their 34 years and counting in the big leagues there is one thing that truly stands out, Joey Votto can say with proof he was the best player in the MLB at one point. This to me is the true sign of someone in the Hall of Fame with longevity aside, you need to be the best of the best.
Now if any sport was defined by numbers, it is this one. Many things outside of the statistics, and numbers decide if a player is Hall of Fame worthy but they also tell the story of why they are deserving. WAR is not everything but Joey Votto (64.4) has just a slight edge on Helton (61.8). Both of these hitters were well above the average hitter in their careers with Votto having an ops+ of 144 and Helton at 133. This takes into account the park factors of each hitter, even though they both played in favorable stadiums. For the counting stats, both are members of the 2,000 hit, 350 homerun club but Todd has 384 more hits than Votto's current total of 2,135. Todd's RBI totalled 1,406 RBIs and 369 homers which edges Votto decently by RBI and narrowly for the home runs. Todd Helton led the National League in batting in 2000 with an absurd .372, he also led the league in RBI and hits that season. That is the only season he was a leader in any major statistical category. These achievements on the field enabled Todd Helton to be voted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Votto on the other hand led the league in on base percentage a whopping 7 times. This stamped him as a true all time great at not getting out. The ability to have one skill so elite you can go against the best competition in the world and still come out as the leader is Hall of Fame worthy.
After reviewing the numbers of both Todd Helton and Joey Votto their greatness jumps off the page. They each have spent 17 seasons absolutely terrorizing big league pitchers at a very high level. On top of this, these two were the face of their respective franchises. They place highly across the board within their franchises record books. This will allow the legend of them to remain for years to come, another Hall of Fame worthy trait they each possess. For each accolade or statistic achieved by Todd Helton, Joey Votto has matched. If we use history to predict the future, Joey Votto will be a hall of famer when that time comes.
