Former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton not elected to 2021 HOF class

Former Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton did not meet the necessary percentage of votes to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this year, but he is trending in the right direction.

On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America and Hall of Fame revealed that no players appeared on at least 75 percent of the ballots, meaning no player will be inducted as a 2021 class member. However, Helton received 44.9 percent of the vote, which was a huge improvement from 16.5 percent in 2019 and 29.2 percent in 2020.

This was the first time since 2013 that no player reached the required 75 percent mark to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. Here are the key numbers associated with Helton’s candidacy:

Third year on the ballot (received 44.9% of the vote in 2021)

Next year’s ballot could make for a dramatic vote. The newcomers will feature Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Jimmy Rollins and Mark Teixeira. It will also be the 10th and final year of eligibility for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, who received the highest number of votes in this year’s election, but asked in a letter to the Hall of Fame to be removed from next year’s ballot.

The 2020 Hall of Fame class, which includes Derek Jeter and Larry Walker, are still scheduled to have their induction ceremony in New York on July 25 since last year’s induction was postponed due to COVID-19.