At the moment he makes contact, when his buggy-whip hands fire through the strike zone, everything seems right with Todd Helton.
The ball zooms toward the left-center gap, slicing violently for a base hit. In the past, this laser would have brought fans to their feet and a pitcher to his knees. But this was practice, leaving his swing appreciated, though meaningless.
There used to be no difference, his batting cage sessions blending seamlessly into game highlights. Nothing seems easy for Helton anymore.
Since he returned from a scary stomach ailment that forced him into the hospital and onto the disabled list, the Rockies’ first baseman has posted pedestrian numbers, his struggles amplified by a team whose offense ranks among the league’s worst.
Helton entered Saturday with four home runs, tied for 168th in the league with, among others, Damian Jackson and Ryan Freel. He had just 20 RBIs, leaving him on pace for a career-low 54. He has hit just .237 since rejoining the Rockies on May 5.
While Helton seems increasingly out of touch with his Cooperstownish statistics, is concern about the star out of place? Should he be viewed as a slumping all-star or a 32-year-old who is trying to find his rhythm after a frightening illness?
“You can judge me any way you want. It doesn’t matter if it’s fair,” Helton said. “I felt like the expectations for me should be the same the day I stepped back onto the field.”
Nearly seven weeks have passed since Helton contracted a virus in his small intestine so painful that his wife, Christy, arm-twisted him into seeing a doctor. Helton was hospitalized four days with inflammation, finally diagnosed as acute ileitis after the five-time all-star was tested for everything from Crohn’s disease to cancer.
Helton looks familiar, showing off a great glove and textbook swing that earned him a contract that has $100.4 million remaining and provides him a $16.6 million salary this season. He can void the final four years of the contract this November and become a free agent after the 2007 season, but Helton’s admiration for his current teammates and knowledge of the marketplace make that highly unlikely.
Helton looks different, too – thinner (he hasn’t regained the 10 pounds he lost while sick) and older (no hiding the gray sprinkles in his hair).
These are the reminders that it’s not certain Helton will regain his elite status in the game automatically, even though he shakes his head at the very suggestion.
“Nothing has changed in what I expect from myself. At the end of the year, when it’s all said and done, my numbers are going to be there,” Helton said. “I believe that.”
When Helton began a Triple-A rehab assignment, he said the challenge was regaining and maintaining his strength. A high school friend suffered through a similar illness, and Helton saw firsthand how slow and grueling his recovery was.
Helton said last week that his health is fine. His back, which sabotaged last season, is not a problem, but there are days he still doesn’t feel at full strength.
Ask scouts what they see in Helton, and there is no revelation or pointed criticism.
His stance looks the same – hands held high, modest leg kick. The desperation that defined his two-month funk to begin last season – he actually went up with one batting glove at one point – is absent. What they don’t see is the ball jumping off the bat; shots that once cleared the fence are landing on the warning track; line drives are melting into singles rather than reaching the gap.
Statistics tell the story
The statistics explain as much. Since returning to the lineup May 5, Helton has just nine extra-base hits. He projects to finish with 53 after averaging 83 during his first eight full seasons. It’s hard to imagine the Rockies contending if Helton is not a star performer, particularly in a lineup that leans so heavily on its Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters.
So what’s wrong? Helton may feel fine, but his body still appears to be acclimating to competition at the highest level.
“Given what Todd went through, I just think we have to be patient. I think he was weak when he came back because he had lost a lot of weight,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “He’s getting there. It probably affected him a lot more than he thought it would.”
Trying to find the zone
Helton never would make such a confession. He views any excuse – he didn’t disclose his season-long back injury to The Denver Post until last November – as a sign of weakness. But his teammates said the gravity of Helton’s illness can’t be discounted.
“It’s pretty much a situation where Todd had to go back to spring training,” said Rockies reliever Ray King, who frequently faced Helton as an opponent before this season. “All of a sudden he misses that amount of time on the DL and he loses all that weight.
“To me, when that happens, it’s kind of like trying to level things out again. He’s getting back his swing. He’s starting to joke around and get back to his normal self, saying, ‘I’m a great hitter in the cage.’ But at first, like anyone, he had trouble getting back into the zone.”
Future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn stifled a laugh when asked if Helton would rebound. Not only does the Rockies’ veteran have a recent history of recovery – he raised his average from .250 on June 21 to .320 at the end of last season by hitting .381 over the final 78 games – but he consistently gets the barrel to the ball, Gwynn said.
The evaluation of Helton should start now, he insisted, since the first baseman has eclipsed the 100 at-bat threshold (114) since coming back.
“That’s usually how long it takes to get your bearings back,” Gwynn said. “It’s about timing. When he’s on, you can’t fool him with anything, not even a changeup. He’s going to start getting the barrel through the ball and driving it more. We are shocked to see him hitting around .270.
“It’s only (the first of June) now, by the end of July he will be back in the Todd Helton range. Just stick with him. He’s too good a hitter not to get it going again.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders contributed to this report.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
