The baseball world was slow to recognize the contributions of the greatest players in Colorado Rockies history. When Larry Walker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame back in 2020, he did so on his 10th and final chance on his last ballot of eligibility. Four years later, Todd Helton got the call in his sixth year of eligibility.
For a variety of reasons and biases, national sportswriters took their time in granting the two legends their place in the game’s history.
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The Rockies were quicker to honor Helton, retiring his number 17 in 2014, the season after his retirement. They were a little slower on the draw than they could have been with Walker, who retired in 2005 but didn’t have his jersey retired until 2021 alongside a celebration of his Hall of Fame induction.
Beyond the retired numbers, Rockies fans have long clamored for the club to do more to celebrate these greats around the ballpark. Finally, fans got their wish.
The Rockies announced plans this year to unveil statues of both Walker and Helton, with the first taking place today and the latter coming soon on September 19th.
Between the Hall of Fame inductions, the jersey retirements, and the statues, all of the celebrations are long overdue and beyond well-deserved for these two. Coors Field is already one of the best ballparks, but the new additions will make it even better.
There’s often discussion about where the line should be drawn around how many players are honored by a franchise and how that should be done. Some argue that teams retiring too many numbers can cause that recognition to lose some of its meaning.
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I’ve always enjoyed the Denver Broncos approach to celebrating team legends. They’ve historically been selective in retiring numbers but have a robust Ring of Fame. They host meaningful celebrations for new inductees and honor all Ring of Famers by enshrining their names inside the stadium and building statues of each outside. While I don’t think a newer team like the Rockies can expect to have as many players celebrated as a historically rich team like the Broncos, I do think the model is a nice one.
So after this, what comes next for other great players in Colorado baseball history now that the Rockies built a new future for honoring the past with the Walker and Helton statues?
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What’s your threshold for who should get their number retired and/or receive a statue?
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Would you like to see the Rockies reserve those honors for only the players who make it into the MLB Hall of Fame? Or would you like to see the franchise recognize more of its own players where MLB won’t?
Give us your thoughts on memorializing Rockies legends below!
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