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Rox throw clubhouse party for Helton

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By Thomas Harding / MLB.com

05/20/09 9:38 AM ET

ATLANTA -- Todd Helton took the advice of his 6-year-old daughter and let loose some smiles after Tuesday night's game.

It was impossible not to express some joy. Helton knocked his 2,000th career hit, all of which have come in a Rockies uniform.

After the game, veteran pitcher Aaron Cook addressed the team and presented Helton with a hunting rifle, engraved with his name, the Rockies' interlocking CR logo and "2,000 hits," as well as a bottle of Dom Perignon from the year 2000, autographed by his teammates. Manager Clint Hurdle, who has worked with Helton since his Minor League days, presented a bottle of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades champagne.

So Helton dashed around the clubhouse, high-fiving and joking with teammates.

Maybe his daughter, Tierny Faith, who was in the stands with Helton's wife, Christy, was right.

"She knows I worry about baseball," Helton said. "We were riding home from a game. She said, 'Daddy, what's wrong?' I said, 'We lost.' She said, 'What's wrong with that?'

"I said a lot of people care, including myself.

"She said, 'You need to have more fun when you play.'"

As has been the case too often this season, and way too often in his Rockies career, the milestone occurred in a loss, this time a disappointing 8-1 decision to the Braves.

Helton's hit-and-run single on an 0-2 pitch in the third inning was one of three hits for the club, as Jair Jurrjens struck out eight in seven innings, and Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez each added a hitless inning. Helton has been a part of three winning seasons since debuting Aug. 2, 1997 -- that season, 2000 and the magical 2007 that saw the Rockies make their only World Series appearance.

But nothing was wrong with Helton enjoying himself on the night he became the 255th player to reach the 2,000 mark. The Yankees' Derek Jeter and two Braves lineup members Tuesday, Garret Anderson and Chipper Jones, are the only other active players to reach that mark with one club. Anderson did it with the Angels.

"That's a lot of hits with the same team," Helton said. "I'm proud of every hit I've gotten."

Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe understood that there was a part of Helton that didn't enjoy the result, but all in all it was a good night. On Monday, an official scorer's call of an error -- on a ball many Rockies thought was a hit -- delayed the celebration.

"It was good," Hawpe said. "If we would have won, it would have made it more exciting. That's what he plays this game for, to win ballgames. But we ran into a guy [Jurrjens] who's got it going."

The accomplishment comes during a bounce-back year for Helton, who missed half of 2008 with a back injury that required surgery at the end of the season to alleviate pressure on a bulging disc.

No one was certain how much he would play or how effective he would be. He has started 32 games and appeared in 35 of the team's 38 games, and Tuesday ended with his batting average at a team-high .336. Plus, he has four home runs, seven doubles and a triple, and carries a .393 on-base percentage.

Hurdle was happy to commemorate Helton's present effectiveness, and a deep past.

During most games, Hurdle keeps detailed notes of at-bats, lineup changes and anything significant that occurs. Most of the time, he throws them away at the end of the night. This time, he held onto the personal notes.

They were all going to Helton.

It was a gesture far less expensive than the bottle of Ace, but it was every bit as heartfelt.

"He gave me credibility as a coach, and for that I'll forever be grateful," Hurdle said.

Helton said he never set a goal for hit totals and isn't going to start.

"I'm thinking 2,001," Helton said. "Garret Anderson said the first 2,000 are easy. The third thousand is the tough part. We'll see."

Hawpe helped spearhead the buying and engraving of the rifle. Flying charter meant the club had little problem packing it on the plane. The job of hiding it went to Keith Schultz, the team's director of clubhouse operations.

Now, what becomes of the rifle and the other memorabilia -- the Braves planned to send over first base -- is up to Helton. In his home, he has some balls signed by players he watched as a child, like George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski and Robin Yount. He has a jersey still dirty from a slide into second base that he took during the 2007 World Series.

But this date will be remembered prominently.

"It is pretty cool," Helton said. "I don't decorate my house with baseball stuff, but I'm definitely going to keep everything that helped me get to this point."

Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.