11 votes were the difference between former Colorado Rockies star Todd Helton and the Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2023 of the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced its voting results, and third baseman Scott Rolen was the lone player elected for enshrinement.
If 11 additional writers voted for Helton, he would be joining Rolen (and Fred McGriff) in the July induction ceremony.
It wasn’t meant to be, at least not this year.
However, with a sizable increase to 72.2 percent of ballots, Helton will make it next year barring a huge surprise.
Some voters are still punishing him for the “Coors penalty”.
Hitting in Coors Field is more advantageous because pitches break less and fly balls travel further because of the thin mountain air.
However, if the league is going to punish him for the venue in which he played half of his games, it shouldn’t have a franchise in Colorado in the first place.
“Another hot take: If you’re gonna put a team in Colorado, you’re not allowed to punish their players because they play there. Put Todd Helton in the Hall of Fame,” Garth Iorgy tweeted.
Another hot take: If you're gonna put a team in Colorado, you're not allowed to punish their players because they play there. Put Todd Helton in the Hall of Fame.
— Garth Iorgy (@GarthIorgy) January 22, 2023
Besides, it’s not like Helton was bad on the road.
A fan tweeted some of his road numbers and compared them with those of some Hall of Famers.
Except that his road numbers are still HOF comparable! Only 55% of his hits were at home, 57% total bases, etc. His career .855 road OPS is better than these HOF's road numbers: Winfield (.841), Murray (.838), Henderson (.836), Gwynn (.835), Kaline (.827) and Brett (.826)
— HeltonHOF (@Hahn160s) January 22, 2023
Again, it didn’t happen this time, but logic indicates that he will get in next year.
He is truly deserving of a spot among the immortals, no matter his home park.
Great hitters produce everywhere, and Helton was certainly no exception.
As his .316/.414/.539 career line indicates, he was very much special.
NEXT: Todd Helton's Stats Present A Unique Hall Of Fame Case