Feb 26, 2002

By JOHN MOSSMAN
AP Sports Writer

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - He won a batting title as he flirted with .400 late into the 2000 season.

He has the highest career batting average (.334) and slugging percentage (.622) among all active major leaguers.

But ask Todd Helton what accomplishment he's most proud of, and he says, "Probably the Gold Glove."

He earned one of those, too, transforming himself from a below-average fielder into, statistically, the best first baseman in the majors last season.

Entering his fifth full big-league season, Helton is the complete package, a too-good-to-be-true blend of superstar, team leader and regular guy.

Helton is secure enough in himself to risk joking about the source of a bruise on his hip.

"See this big old bruise that I've got," he said Tuesday. "We were doing bunt drills. I slipped and landed right on the ball. That's what happens when you get fat like I am."

He's neither fat nor clumsy, of course.

Helton has always excelled with the bat, hitting .407 with 20 homers and 92 RBIs his final season at the University of Tennessee, where he also played quarterback.

When the Rockies made him their first-round draft pick that summer, then-general manager Bob Gebhard called Helton a classic line-drive hitter who would wear out the gaps in Coors Field, hitting 20 to 25 homers a season.

Helton was determined to be much more.

Not only has he hit for average, topped by his major league-leading .372 average in 2000, but he has increased his home run production each year from 25 to 35 to 42 to 49. The last two seasons he has had 147 and 146 RBIs.

"I didn't think I would have that much power either," Helton said, "but I changed my swing some. I got a lot stronger. And back then I didn't know how to pull a baseball, how to turn on a ball. Now I do."

No one praised his defense, and Helton heard the whispers.

"When I was in the minor leagues, they said I probably wouldn't make it, and the reason I wouldn't make it was because of my glove," Helton recalled.

So Helton worked even more feverishly on that part of his game.

"There was a lot of work to be done," he admitted.

Last year, in 1,424 total chances, he committed just two errors for a .999 fielding percentage.

"Two throwing errors," Helton noted. "So, yeah, the Gold Glove is very gratifying."

Whereas he used to be compared so unfavorably to his predecessor, Andres Galarraga, he now is even more dependable, if not always as graceful.

The effort hasn't been lost on his teammates.

"I'm not a guy who is going to make a lot of noise," Helton said. "I hope to lead by example."

A year ago, management rewarded Helton with an eight-year, $141.5 million contract extension that includes an option and ties him to the team through 2012.

It amounts to a lifetime deal for Helton, 28.

"He has an overachiever mentality with star ability," general manager Dan O'Dowd said.

In the offseason, the Elias Sports Bureau ranked Helton No. 1 in its annual statistical rankings of the top players in baseball. Helton received a score of 99.130, Arizona's Randy Johnson was second at 98.250.

The individual honors are nice, but Helton craves to play for a winner. He has played for only one winning team in four seasons in Colorado.

"I think we have enough talent to be a good team," he said. "It starts down here with an attitude. I don't think we should worry about winning and losing. We should worry about going out and playing hard and playing as a team, and the wins and losses will take care of themselves."