Hard work is hard-wired into Todd Helton’s DNA. So is perfectionism. Change, however, is not part of his makeup.
That’s why the 2009 season could be the most challenging of his career as he attempts to rebound from back surgery and again become an offensive force.
Helton, 35, is a gym rat in a baseball uniform, addicted to sweating it out in the batting cage in search of the flawless swing. That part of his life is gone forever, due to the strain it puts on his back.
“I’ve got some serious issues,” he said this week with a laugh.
But in the next breath, he said he understands he must transform his approach.
“The thing is, I would go in the cages and take 400 swings,” he said. “I hit too much. I was hitting just to hit. I would start feeling good with my swing, but then I’d start thinking something else was wrong and I’d take more swings. I’d leave my best swings in the cages. The plan now is to go in there, do my work, get to where I feel comfortable, and get out of there.”
After playing at least six years with back problems that eventually caused his left leg to start going numb last summer, Helton underwent arthroscopic lower-back surgery on Sept. 30. The procedure — designed to relieve the pressure that a bulging disc was putting on nerves — was termed a success by Dr. Robert Watkins, a renowned spine surgeon. But Helton heads to Tucson next week for spring training knowing he faces a tough road back.
Last week, for instance, he was swinging, running and “feeling good to go.”
But this week his back felt sore and stiff, and he was forced to back off his aggressive rehabilitation. He’s been assured by doctors, as well as players with similar back histories, that setbacks are normal.
“Sometimes you feel like you can play, and other times you feel like horse crap,” said Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal during last year’s playoffs. “Either way, you have to keep doing your exercises to strengthen your core.”
Furcal, 31, underwent surgery last July 3 and was limited to 36 games and 143 at-bats. He was sidelined until the season’s final week but started each of the Dodgers’ eight postseason games. “The key is to do a lot of stretching,” Furcal said. “You have to do it every day, even if your body is feeling good.”
Helton said he has remained devoted to a daily 45-minute regimen of tough, boring exercises designed to strengthen his midsection.
“I’ve almost got one ab now,” he joked.
But spring training presents a different hurdle.
“It’s definitely going to be difficult for me, because I am going to want to get to the park and hit instead of taking the time to get loose and do the exercises,” Helton said. “It’s especially tough when you are feeling good. But you still have to stick to it, keep on it.”
Helton remains confident he’ll be in the starting lineup on April 6 — opening day.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “I don’t care too much about spring training games. But I’m sure when I get down there, I’m going to want to get out there and be doing everything.”
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle and head trainer Keith Dugger have a spring training game plan designed so Helton doesn’t overwork himself.
“Todd’s going to play innings and get at-bats,” Hurdle said. “But we are going to keep that close to the vest on how we do that and when we do that.”
Even if Helton is back at first base on opening day, it’s far from certain he’ll finish there next season. At his age, with 5,962 major-league at-bats under his belt and a cranky back, it’s bound to be a bumpy ride.
Just ask Don Mattingly. The former Yankees’ Gold Glove first baseman retired at age 34 because of lower-back problems.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t play through the pain,” Mattingly said. “And it took me a couple of years, to be honest, to learn to deal with it. Everybody told me I needed to back off the amount of work I did, but when I did that I didn’t feel prepared.”
Helton doesn’t accept that he’ll automatically need to play far fewer games. Asked if a 110- or 120-game season was realistic, he said: “Oh, I’ll be able to play more than that. And I know I’ll play a lot more than I did last year.”
Before last season, Helton had never played in fewer than 144 games. Last year he managed just 83 games, hitting .264 with seven homers and 29 RBIs.
Though Helton’s back was hurting him last season, he admits he was resistant to taking a day off.
“Yeah, I was,” he said. “But my goal now is to play so well that (Hurdle) doesn’t want to take me out — regardless. But you always want to be the guy that you feel like they can’t take out of the lineup. I haven’t been that guy for a while now, but I want to be back to being that guy.”
Helton and Hurdle have butted heads in the past about Helton’s stubborness to play. Helton usually won. Hurdle predicts Helton will now be more flexible.
“I don’t think there is any doubt that Todd is in the best position he’s ever been to make an adjustment,” Hurdle said. “He has to understand we have a large volume of games in front of him. He’ll be aware that quality will be a focus point, rather than the quantity.
“More than anything, I think he understands the value of him being in the lineup and the importance of being healthy in the lineup. Because those are two different things.”
Helton has heard the many skeptics who say his back, and his $16.6 million salary, are a burden to the Rockies. He wouldn’t mind hushing them up.
“That’s not the main reason I want to go out there. I want to go out and help my team win games,” he said. “Do I want to prove the skeptics wrong? Of course I do. I know there are a lot of them out there, with justifiable reasons, because I haven’t gone out and produced the way I should.”
More than anything, he said, “I just want to be a good baseball player again. I have been one my whole life. So I’m going to go out there and give it my best shot.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck contributed to this report.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
Helton’s contract
Todd Helton signed a nine-year, $141.5 million contract in 2003. A look at what’s left.
2009 salary: $16.6 million
2010: $16.6 million
2011: $19.1 million
2012: $23 million, club option ($4.6 million buyout)
