Former Tennessee star Todd Helton falls short of Baseball Hall of Fame election

Former Tennessee slugger and quarterback Todd Helton missed out on election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his fourth year of eligibility.

Helton, a Knoxville native, received a vote on 52% of ballots cast from Baseball Writers Association of America voters, falling short of the 75% threshold for election. He was listed among 30 candidates, and the results were announced on MLB Network on Tuesday.

Helton played 17 years for the Colorado Rockies, retiring in 2013 with a .316 batting average and 369 home runs. He was a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, three-time Gold Glove winner, the 2000 batting champion and a multi-year MVP candidate.

Helton, a Knoxville Central graduate, was elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in May. His No. 3 was permanently retired by UT in 2008, the first baseball number so enshrined by the Vols.

In three seasons at UT, Helton had a .370 batting average with 38 home runs and 238 RBIs and garnered All-America honors twice.

Helton has made progress since first appearing on the ballot in 2019, when he drew 16.5% of the vote. It increased to 29.2% in 2020 and 44.9% in 2021.

Helton played quarterback for the Vols during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Former Tennessee star Todd Helton falls short of Baseball Hall of Fame election