An hour after the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 9-8 in 13 innings Monday night, die-hard fans at Coors Field were chanting for Todd Helton to make a curtain call. They knew the face of the franchise deserved nothing less after making the playoffs after 10 long, often frustrating seasons.
“I can’t even begin to explain how this feels,” Helton said after teammates doused him with the equivalent of a 21-bottle champagne salute.
Helton finished the greatest night of his career with a solo homer in the third and a sacrifice fly in the first.
He finished the regular season with a .320 average and 91 RBIs, his most since 2004. He hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, at a .377 clip. He reached base safely via walk, hit or hit-by-pitch in his most recent 32 games.
