What do you get for the retiring Colorado Rockies icon who has earned approximately $161,490,000 over 17 seasons?
Apparently, you get him a horse.
Before the final home game of his career, Todd Helton was honored by the Rockies during an elaborate pre-game ceremony. The 40-year-old first baseman, who was drafted by the club with the No. 8 overall selection in the 1995 MLB Draft, was joined by his family and feted by fans. After catching a ceremonial first pitch from one of his daughters, Tierney Faith, the five-time All-Star was presented with a horse, of course. The 6-year-old horse is named A Tru Bustamove and is a three-time championship Tobiano Gelding Paint Horse, according to MLB.com.
"It goes by really quick," Helton said of his career, via Troy Renck of The Denver Post. "You blink and here you are. It was fun, a lot of hard work went into it, but it was work I love to do. I'm honored to have all these people here wishing me on to the next chapter of my life."
In the home second, Helton added some fireworks of his own to the party. The four-time Silver Slugger homered on the third pitch he saw from Boston Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy. Unfortunately, the umpires did not allow him to ride the horse around the bases.
"It was kind of surreal," "I hit it and I'm like, 'That's a homer.' But I really wasn't sure," said Helton after the Rockies 15-5 loss, via MLB.com. "I thought, 'That couldn't really happen.'"
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