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Todd Helton was officially elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Helton, who was in his 6th year on the ballot, will be joined by Adrian Beltré and Joe Mauer in Cooperstown for the official induction ceremony this summer. The former Volunteer was named on 79.6% of ballots, just clearing the minimum 75% threshold.
Here’s video of Helton receiving the good news in an emotional phone call:
The call he's been waiting for, the call we've all been waiting for ? pic.twitter.com/oLIEXvinMw
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) January 23, 2024
Helton was a 2-sport standout at Tennessee as he played both football and baseball for the Vols. On the football field, Helton served as Peyton Manning’s backup quarterback in 1994. That season, he completed 33-of-66 passes for 406 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
The next summer, Helton was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He spent all 17 MLB seasons of his Hall-of-Fame career with the Rockies and is widely-regarded as one of the top players in franchise history. He helped lead Colorado to the World Series in 2007.
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Helton becomes just the 2nd former SEC player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He joins Auburn’s Frank Thomas on that exclusive list.
The 2024 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Cooperstown on July 21.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
