Purple Row Rockies Madness: No. 1 Todd Helton vs. No. 4 Trevor Story

Due to the cancellation of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, Purple Row is hosting our own Rockies Madness Tournament this year. We selected the 36 best players in Rockies history to determine the best player in franchise history. We sorted them into four regions to force the most interesting matchups: Infielders, Outfielders, Mile High (for relievers and starting pitchers who began their career before the humidor), and Humidor (for starters who began their career after the humidor). All stats are from Baseball Reference.

Today is the Sweet 16 matchup in the Infielder Region: No. 1 Todd Helton vs. No. 4 Trevor Story.

Todd Helton, First Baseman

1997-2013

Awards

• 5x All-Star (2000-2004)
• 4x Silver Slugger (2000-2003)
• 3x Gold Glove (2001, 2002, 2004)
• 2000 NL Batting Title

Notes

• “The Toddfather” is the only player to play his entire career in Purple Pinstripes and is the first player in franchise history to have his number (17) retired.
• Helton holds the Rockies club records for hits (2,159), home runs (369), doubles (592), walks (1,335), runs scores (1,401), RBI (1,406), games played (2,247), and total bases (4,292).
• He played football at the University of Tennessee and was the starter for three weeks after starter Jerry Colquitt got injured, until he suffered his own knee injury that opened the door for then-true freshman Peyton Manning..
• In a perfect tribute, Todd Helton hit his final MLB home run in his last ever game at Coors Field on September 25, 2013.

Trevor Story, Shortstop

2016-present

Awards

• 2x All-Star (2018, 2019)
• 2x Silver Slugger (2018, 2019)

Notes

• He had a Storied debut in 2016, in which he hit ten home runs in April — tying the rookie record previously set by José Abreu. His first career hit was a three-run homer off of Zack Greinke in his Arizona Diamondbacks debut.
• Despite an injury-shortened rookie season, Story finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and was chosen as one of five players for the All-Star Final Vote.
• Story surpassed Alex Rodriguez to become the fastest shortstop to hit 100 home runs (448 games).

★ ★ ★