What Rockies teammates say about Hall of Famer Todd Helton: “He wanted to squeeze every bit of talent out of himself”

Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Here’s how his teammates remember the player and person who spent all 17 years of his career in Colorado:

“Todd was the ultimate competitor. A great leader and always prepared. He elevated our team not only by his play on the field but also by his leadership — spoken and unspoken. It’s is a great honor to call him my friend.” — Starting pitcher Aaron Cook, 2002-12 with Rockies

“Todd was the most superstitious person I’ve ever known. How funny is it that someone so good at what he does can be so reliant on things that don’t matter at all? He could routinely be seen up in the clubhouse between at-bats raiding his teammates’ bat bags after going 0 for 2 in his first two ABs. If you had lunch with him on a day he ended up going 4 for 4, you better clear your calendar for the next afternoon as well.” — Starting pitcher Jeff Francis, 2004-10 and 2012-13

“Congrats to Todd Helton on making the Hall of Fame. Incredible player. Loved him as a teammate. He was really good to me. He was tough on me, but good to me and I needed it . He deserves this. He was such a good player and he was durable. I always respected that about him and he instilled that in me, to try and be out there and play.” — Third baseman Nolan Arenado, 2013-20

“He was the older guy on the 2007 World Series team, so it’s easy to portray him as a leader, but he truly was. He didn’t have to go around saying much. It was more that the younger guys didn’t want to disappoint him. We thought, ‘If he’s going to go that hard, then we owe it to him to do that, too.’” — Right fielder Brad Hawpe, 2004-10

“With Todd, you would learn from him as he went about his business. His batting cage sessions were super intense and he was always working on something. He was never going through the motions. For me, as a young player, he gave me a front-row seat to see why he was different and I used to think, ‘Wow, this is great.’ ” — Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, 2006-15

“What was great about Todd is that he was never satisfied. He wanted to squeeze every bit of talent out of himself.” — Hall of Famer Larry Walker, 1995-2004

“We used to go watch him take batting practice at Tennessee. It just had a different sound to it when he was taking batting practice. I certainly knew that he was a special talent. I have enjoyed following him all of these years, even before I got to Denver.” — Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning