NEW YORK - Colorado slugger Todd Helton may not be
heading to the playoffs, but he can take some solace in winning
National League Player of the Week honors for the second time
this season Monday.
A five-time All-Star, Helton led the NL with 14 hits, eight runs
and a .567 on-base percentage for the last-place Rockies. In
the midst of a 12-game hitting streak, Helton also drove in nine
runs and slugged .926 last week, which featured the 29th
four-hit performance of his career Friday against San Francisco.
Helton, who had a .250 batting average on June 20, is hitting a
league-best .376 since the All-Star break to raise his season
average to .322 - the fourth-best mark in the NL.
Helton also won the award on July 11, the same week Cleveland's
Travis Hafner received AL honors. Coincidentally, Hafner also
won the AL Player of the Week award on Monday.