Helton: old age or something else?

[armchair]

I picked up on a thread from another board that mentioned that he has ZERO home runs this year. Somebody suggested he may have been a juicer--and I have wondered that myself for a while. The guy put up huge numbers over a 5/6 year period from 1999 to 2004, but since then his HR and power numbers have plunged. That sort of corresponds with heightened awareness of roids. I can see his numbers starting to fall off now--at age 37--but this started at age 33, which in baseball is not that old. It's sort of the same with Ortiz: A few huge years, and then suddenly and mysteriously a big hitter can't hit the ball at all anymore. I'm proud of Helton as a UT guy, but one wonders with baseball players, especially because when Helton started bashing juicing was VERY prevalent in the league; indeed, it's hard to believe that anybody with big numbers wasn't doing it. Sosa--good gosh, was the same way: A superman for a few years, then looked like an amateur--no more juice or corked bats.

 

[etmVol]

While PEDs are a possibility, Helton is a high-character guy that has denied using them.

You must remember that when he was putting up 25-30+ homers a year, Coors field did not store the baseballs in a humidor yet (once they did this, everybody's HR totals dropped at Coors), and he was also healthy.
He has had several nagging injuries in the last 5-8 years which can very easily sap one's power. Although steriod use/abuse over periods of time can lead to these types of injuries, so can being a professional athlete playing 162 games in a season + spring training (and the aging process).
You mustn't forget that he also played his fair share of football and even though it's closing in on 2 decades since he took his last snap, that also can take a toll on someone.

More importantly than the above reasons, I think his approach is different. He doesn't have to supply big time power for the Rockies to be successful. His job is to have a high OPS and drive in runs. With the table setters in front of him and the pop behind him, he doesn't have to go yard 30 times a year to do this.

 

[tallyvol]

love Todd Helton, but he should hang it up. The guy hitting in the 3 hole with 0 HR and 7 rbi. I have denied it myself for years, but I do believe he may have been a juicer.