COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Looking fit, tan, and relaxed, or at least as relaxed as he can be in front of reporters and TV cameras, Todd Helton opened up on the eve of his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Rockies first baseman was, by turns, funny, thoughtful, emotional and thankful as he fielded questions Saturday.
One question caught Helton off guard but allowed him to honor his late father, Jerry, who died in 2015 at age 65.
“He was a crier,” Helton said when asked about his dad’s reaction to Sunday’s ceremony. “So he’d be crying profusely. It would have meant the world to him. He prepared me to be here. … To go out and play ball and to play hard, and to focus on every pitch. That’s what I learned from him. So I really wish he was here.”
Helton’s mom, Martha, suffered a fall earlier in the week, but she was able to make the journey from Tennessee to upstate New York.
“It was in doubt earlier this week,” Helton said. “She banged her head really good, but we got her bandaged up and she is going to make it. So I’m very excited for that as well.”
Tee it up. Any Rockies fan worth the color purple has undoubtedly seen the iconic image of Helton, arms raised over his head as he celebrates the final out of the 2007 National League championship series that sent the Rockies to their only World Series.
Saturday morning, Helton was joined by owner Dick Monfort and two good friends for a round of golf at Leatherstocking Golf Course at the famed Otesaga Resort Hotel. Helton was surprised to see that championship photo again.
“They gave me golf balls today with that image on them,” he said. “I used those today. If somebody wants to find them, there are plenty of them out there.”
Bench call. Helton got a call from the Cincinnati area the other day. He decided not to pick up. Wrong move.
“When I saw it was a call from Cincinnati, Ohio, I decided not to answer it,” Helton said. “And then I got the voicemail and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I didn’t answer Johnny Bench.’”
Helton called Bench back and heard some sage advice on how to handle his first Hall of Fame weekend.
“He gave me the advice to keep a journal about everybody you meet, and your experiences. Because it’s going to go by so fast. That’s what they all say.”
Fandom. Groups of Rockies fans prowled Main Street on Saturday. Art Crumly, 73, from Casper, Wyo., sat on the steps of the Hall of Fame, adorned in purple.
Crumly worked as the public address announcer at Mike Lansing Field for years. He wouldn’t have missed Helton’s induction for the world. He and his wife, Judy, drove 2,000 miles to Cooperstown in their RV.
“Judy is the big Todd Helton fan,” he said. “When he got into the Hall of Fame, I promised her I would get her to Cooperstown.”
When Helton did a rehab stint with the minor league Casper Ghosts, Judy had her photo taken with Helton and he took the time to sign it for her.
“It’s a cherished keepsake,” Crumly said.
“Rockies fans were very good to me for 17 years,” Helton said. “They were kind, patient, and they picked you up when you had a bad game. They didn’t boo your ass.
“There were times when I would think, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to play this game.’ I was tired or I was injured or whatever. And then you walk out and feel the energy of the fans and it just energizes you. I went out and played hard for them because they spent their hard-earned money to come watch you play.”
Rox, not Sox. Helton, who played all 17 seasons with the Rockies, came very close to being traded to Boston before the ’07 season. He said he’s always been thankful that the trade didn’t go down.
“Dick (Monfort) and Kelli came to me and said they didn’t want to trade me, they wanted me to stay,” Helton said, referring to the late Kelli McGregor, the former team president. “I was always grateful for that. Of course, we ended up going to the World Series that year and they beat us. But I would have rather lost the World Series playing for the Rockies than winning it with another team.”
Missing buddies. Several of Helton’s friends and former teammates, including Clint Barmes and Troy Tulowitzki, could not make it to Cooperstown because of the global technology outage that led to flight cancellations.
“That was disappointing,” he said. “But I was able to have lunch Friday with Ben Petrick, and it was great seeing him.”
Other players expected to attend Helton’s induction Sunday include Brad Hawpe, Matt Holliday, Matt Belisle, Glendon Rusch, Turk Wendell and Chris Sexton.
Bud Bales, 86, Helton’s high school coach at Knoxville Central High School, drove from Tennessee with a group of Helton’s high school teammates.
“I’m very appreciative of all those guys making the trek up here,” Helton said. “Some of those guys sat in airports for 16 hours to get here. Or they ditched the airport, rented a car and drove their butts all the way up here. I’m very appreciative of that.”
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