First baseman Todd Helton, sidelined much of the season due to lower back problems, decided Wednesday to undergo arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday. The procedure will attempt to relieve pressure a ruptured disk has placed on a nerve, which creates numbness in his left leg.
Helton traveled with the Rockies to San Francisco, where they played the Giants on Wednesday night, but flew to Los Angeles along with trainer Keith Dugger on Wednesday morning, and was examined by Dr. Robert Watkins, who will perform the surgery in Marina Del Rey, Calif. Dugger said the surgery is arthroscopic, involving an incision only two inches long, and that after two weeks, Helton will begin a rehab program. Helton is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. He welcomes the chance to alleviate the pain that began bothering him three years ago and eventually caused the problems in his left leg, which led to him going on the disabled list in July.
"Mentally," Helton said, "it has been a train wreck."
The Rockies took a conservative approach in treating Helton, trying to avoid surgery, but three times his comeback was thwarted by a flare-up when he started swinging a bat, the most recent coming a week ago.
"Dr. Watkins said if he was talking about someone in the general public he would continue the rehab work and there might be a recurrence (of the nerve problem) once in a while," said Dugger. "With Todd and the athletic demands, a more aggressive approach was needed."
Helton, 35, said he can deal with pain, but the numbness in his leg was too big of an issue to ignore.
"If I can get the nerve part fixed," Helton said, "I can deal with everything else. It was the pain down the leg that got to me."
This has been a troubling time for Helton, who says the expectations that others have him for him pale in comparison to what he expects from himself. The highest-paid player in franchise history, he wants to earn the $52.3 million in guaranteed salary he has coming over the next three seasons.
"Now that I know what can happen, I can focus on all the little things needed to make sure we keep it under control," said Helton.
His season will end with a .264 average, seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 83 games, including a pair of September pinch-hit appearances in which he struck out. Those are not Helton-like numbers. In his prime, Helton had six consecutive seasons of 30-plus home runs, and seven consecutive seasons of 95-plus RBIs. He never hit below .300 in his first 10 full seasons, and he came into this year with a .332 career average, 303 home runs and 1,087 RBIs.
"It has been frustrating to know I haven't been able to help," Helton said. "The team is not winning, so I want to be out there helping it do better. I haven't done my part."
ROCKIES 15, GIANTS 6: Clint Barmes equaled a career-high with four hits, including a double and a home run, stole two bases, drove in four runs and scored four runs. Chris Iannetta had a two-run double in the first, giving him 64 RBIs and a tie for the franchise record for a catcher. Brent Mayne had 64 in 2000. Livan Hernandez went seven innings to earn his second win in a row.
