ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. (NCBWA) – Todd Helton, the 1995 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear recipient, has another feather in his already-extensive baseball cap.
Helton was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last week in Cooperstown, New York, as the first Howser Trophy winner and first Tennessee alumnus to be recognized with this high baseball honor.
Helton’s exploits throughout his Tennessee career in baseball and football are well documented, and he capped them with the ’95 Howser Trophy, which is considered to be the Heisman Trophy of NCAA Division I baseball.
As a junior in his trophy-winning season, he batted .407 over 69 games with 27 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 92 RBI. He also logged a .775 slugging percentage and heady OPS of 1.297. If that wasn’t enough, the tall lefthander from Knoxville, Tennessee, set a then-UT season record with 11 saves, had a microscopic 0.69 ERA and had a streak of 47 consecutive shutout innings during his 1993-95 career with the Volunteers.
The Southeastern Conference Player of the Year also starred in football for Tennessee as a quarterback in 1994 and drew starting assignments before injuring his knee against Mississippi State. His replacement was a young freshman from New Orleans named Peyton Manning.
Helton’s excellence on the diamond eventually led to All-SEC and All-America honors along with the ’95 Howser Trophy, and he was drafted No. 8 in the first round of the 1995 MLB Free Agent selections by the Colorado Rockies.
Two years later, the Tennessee star made the MLB grade and starred for 17 seasons with the Rockies. Primarily playing first base, with some spot duties as an outfielder, Helton registered a .996 career fielding percentage for one of the top figures ever for a regular position play.
Coupled with five All-Star Game invitations, three Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, the 2000 National League Hank Aaron Award after he led the majors with a .372 batting average, MLB-topping 147 RBI in 2000, the 2000 and 2002 Roberto Clemente Award nomination for a Rockies player, and the eventual retirement of his No. 17 by Colorado (first in team annals), Helton remains one of the most popular standouts in Rockies history.
His .316 career batting average still tops all Rockies players with 10 years in MLB baseball while he drove in 1,406 runs with 369 home runs and 2,519 hits for franchise records.
“I think Todd Helton’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as his personal accomplishments, reflect well on the Dick Howser Trophy almost 30 years after he received the award,” said David Feaster, Howser Trophy Executive Director. “His college and professional records speak for themselves, and he has continued to embody the tenets of the Dick Howser Trophy - leadership, moral character and courage – throughout his baseball career and his post-baseball life.”
Some other Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear recipients who have been considered for the National Baseball Hall of Fame have been Jason Varitek, C, Georgia Tech, 1994; Mark Teixeira, 1B, Georgia Tech, 2000; Rickie Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; and Buster Posey, C, Florida State.
This year’s winner was Georgia standout Charlie Condon, the No. 3 player selected in the 2024 MLB Draft by none other than Helton’s Rockies. Could history repeat itself?