Colorado Rockies Veteran Todd Helton to ponder over future this winter - MLB News
Veteran Colorado Rockies’ first baseman Todd Helton has said that he will not decide about whether to retire or not once he tests his surgically repaired hip during the workouts this winter. The 39-year-old had a season ending surgery in September this year,
which had said to have gone quite well.
His return to the game has been further complicated by a minor arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a damaged meniscus. The surgery is quite common for baseball players and Todd should recover well.
The left-handed hitter could only make 69 appearances during the 2012 season and given his advancing age by baseball’s standards, a return as a full time player is almost certainly out of question. He still has a $5 million contract with the Rockies for
the next year.
Even if he returns, the number of games that he will actually play is likely going to be low. The club will need to prepare for a situation where Todd decides to retire and will need backup resources. Even if he continues, they will still need a second player
at his position for the games he will not be playing in.
Offensively, 2012 was a lean year for Helton whose batting average was .238 in 69 games. He did manage to go long on seven occasions and managed 37 RBI’s. His career numbers are much higher. In the 16 seasons that he has played Major League Baseball, all
of them for the Rockies’, he had a batting average of .320 with an on-base percentage of .419. He has hit 354 home-runs and has over 2400 hits, averaging over 150 hits per season.
He has himself expressed a hope that he will return fully healthy and ready to take on the challenges he will face. "I think, physically, I will be able to come back. So I plan on coming back, but there are a couple of things still on my mind. I want to
know I have a good chance to make it through next year — healthy. That will factor into it," he said earlier.
Helton was also quite happy with the return of Walt Weiss, a familiar face who was a team-mate in 1997 when Helton made his debut as the team’s manager. "He's a man of great character. You could tell that immediately," Helton said. "The player you saw on
the field? He's exactly the same person off the field."
Todd Helton’s first target will certainly be to get fit for Spring Training and get some match fitness before the start of the next year’s regular season. His fitness in the regular season will greatly help the Rockies who are already in some trouble. If
he decides to retire, the team will need to find a very good replacement for someone as classy as Helton.
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