Other Crap

Does Helton have any gas left in the tank?

He spent the off-season working out and adding 25 pounds of muscle.

In the portion of last year after the All-Star break, Helton hit five homers, including none in his last 70 at bats - and that's playing half of his games in Coors. And Coors was about all he had the last five years. Here are his road stats for those seasons:

In 2006: 7 homers, 30 RBI

In 2005: 7 homers, 27 RBI.

In 2004: 11 homers, 36 RBI.

In 2003: 10 homers, 45 RBI.

In 2002, 12 homers, 44 RBI.

So over the past five seasons he's averaged nine homers and 36 RBI on the road. Coors has helped his entire career, of course. If he had played his career in a neutral park, his average season would be .294 with 25 homers and 87 RBI per 162 games. In Coors, his average per 162 games is .371 with 39 homers and 138 RBI. Helton has slugged .676 at Coors, .507 on the road.

That's no misprint. Coors really has that big an impact. Larry Walker's stats are almost identical. In Coors, per 162 games: .381, 41 homers, 141 RBI. On the road: .278, 27 homers, 92 RBI. In Walker's career, he slugged .710 at Coors, .495 on the road, .518 in Montreal. In Coors, Walker's lifetime stats are about equal to Babe Ruth's (Ruth's lifetime OPS was 1.164. Walker is 1.172 at Coors). Outside of Coors, he's a statistical dead ringer for Fred Lynn.