Homer History: Todd Helton’s blast ignites Rockies historic run

In our Homer History series, writers re-tell the stories of memorable home runs from their perspective. In this installment, Yahoo Sports Big League Stew writer Mark Townsend recounts the time Todd Helton’s walk-off blast ignited an incredible run.

As a fan of the Colorado Rockies even before they debuted in 1993, nothing compares to the historic 21-1 run that led them directly to their first and only World Series appearance in 2007. It was a continuous wave of moments and emotions that only baseball fans in the thick of a pennant race can understand or appreciate and, up until that point, those were moments and emotions I had not truly experienced as a fan.

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In the final two weeks of the regular season, Colorado went from the brink of postseason afterthoughts, which is where they typically resided once September rolled around, to playing a tiebreaker game for the National League wild card against the San Diego Padres.

(Todd Helton's blast ignited a great run) That game is the one everyone remembers, because it was the Rockies ticket to the postseason. You could even argue that the drama both teams squeezed into that single, heart-stopping game at Coors Field started the wheels turning for what is now the wild-card play-in round. It was that good, and that memorable, but the reality is none of that would been possible without the swing that we’re privileged to relive today.

It happened on Sept. 18, 2007. Fittingly enough, though not certainly surprising, it was Todd Helton, the franchise’s greatest player, who provided that swing. I’ll always remember the setup too, because it was the scenario we all dream about as kids. Helton was truly the Rockies last hope. Two outs in the ninth inning, trailing by one run to the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that year after year was the source of much of our pain.

It was a big moment, but no moment was too big for Helton. He turned on the pitch from Takashi Saito and sent it soaring for a two-run, walk-off homer. With Coors Field in a frenzy, Helton then glided around the bases as the elation turned him back into that kid with a dream.

It was a beautiful moment. One the Rockies desperately needed to keep their seemingly faint postseason hopes alive.

On a personal level, it was a home run I needed just as badly. Just five days earlier my grandfather, Phillip Townsend, died after a short battle with cancer. It was his passion for baseball that infected everyone who knew him. Baseball was in his blood. It’s in my father’s blood. And I learned at a very young age that it was in my blood too, and that was what we all bonded over.

[Homer History: Joe Carter’s majestic blast that won the 1993 World Series]

At that moment, Helton’s home run not only gave the Rockies life, it got my blood pumping again.

* * *

I don’t remember many details from the days leading up to that game. I just know I needed baseball and I needed the Rockies to provide it, for better or worse.

(AP Images) Wins were what the Rockies needed. Entering play on Sept. 16, they had little-to-no margin for error. With 14 games left to play, they were alone in fourth place in the NL West, 6.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The wild card picture was just as bleak. There, they trailed San Diego by 4.5 games, but also had to contend with five other teams that were ahead or within one game of their position.

The Rockies started their run by crushing the Marlins 13-0 on a Sunday afternoon. After an off-day, the Dodgers came to town for a four-game series, which began with a day-night doubleheader. The Rockies won the early game 3-1 behind a brilliant performance from Jeff Francis, but the nightcap quickly turned into a typical Coors Field slugfest.

When the eighth inning rolled around, the Rockies had fallen behind 8-5. Their margin for error shrinking with every out, especially with Saito, an All-Star closer that season, and top notch set up man Jonathan Broxton waiting in the wings. The Rockies got two back in the eighth inning on a Ryan Spilborghs’ home run, and that set the stage for Helton.

[Elsewhere: The Royals are dragging out their World Series celebration when they play the Mets]

The pure joy on the original Toddfather’s face as he rumbled down the third-base line and tossed his helmet skyward stirred all the emotions in me.

As a Rockies fan, I was euphoric. Especially because it was Helton. For over a decade, he had been the face of the franchise from a marketing standpoint, but more importantly its heart and soul in the clubhouse. He played for losing team after losing team, longing for that moment. No one deserved that moment or the big moments that followed on Colorado’s unlikely journey more than he did.

As a grieving grandson, I was sad I wouldn’t be able to talk about that moment or the remote chance the Rockies still had with my grandfather. Though not a Rockies’ fan himself, I know he would have been absolutely thrilled.

* * *
(AP Images) The Townsend family has always been slightly divided. There’s a Cubs contingent, which is where my grandfather resided for all of his 91 years and where most of the others held their loyalty. Then there was the Rockies contingent, consisting of my cousins who grew up just outside Denver and me.

I wouldn’t say I was bribed to jump on the Rockies bandwagon, but I definitely felt like the coolest kid in school in 1992 wearing the shirt of a team that had yet to play a game. I was immediately attached, and simply never let go, perhaps against my better judgment.

My grandpa owned a Rockies hat too. He picked one up during a trip to spring training always wore or displayed that hat when the Rockies fans were around. It was his way of making us feel comfortable in a Cubs dominated family.

As much as he wished for the Cubs championship that he never saw, he always wanted the small Rockies contingent to enjoy the thrills of baseball success. When Helton hit that home run, I knew he was somewhere smiling, and that it was OK for me to smile too.

[Elsewhere: Josh Donaldson avoided arbitration with the Blue Jays]

Life would go on. Great moments would still happen. And though we couldn’t talk about or share those moments anymore, it has always been comforting to know other grandfathers, fathers and sons are.

COMING WEDNESDAY: David Eckstein (of all people) smashes a walk-off grand slam against the Braves.

PREVIOUSLY IN HOMER HISTORY
– The night a hobbled Kirk Gibson broke my heart (by Mike Oz)
– Cal Ripken Jr. wowed us yet again on Iron Man night (by Lauren Shehadi)
– When Albert Pujols silenced Minute Maid Park (by Jeff Passan)
– Bill Mazeroski’s great walk-off World Series winner (by Kevin Iole)
– The Big Papi grand slam that still haunts Detroit (by Al Toby)
– That time Joe Blanton hit a home run in the World Series (by Sam Cooper)
– When Jim Leyritz halted hopes of a Braves dynasty (by Jay Busbee)
– Bryce Harper and the home run almost no one saw (by Chris Cwik)
– Shane Robinson and the home run on one predicted (by Tim Brown)
– The shot heard ’round the world (by Larry King)
– The night Reggie Jackson became Mr. October (by Scott Pianowski)
– Tony Fernandez’s extra-innings postseason blast (by Joey Gulino)
– Dave Kingman takes one out of Wrigley Field (by Andy Behrens)
– Joe Carter’s blast wins the 1993 World Series (by Greg Wyshynski)