Rick Helling
Born: 12/15/1970 in Devils Lake, ND, USA
MLB Debut: 1994-04-10 | Final Game: 2006-09-09
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 215 lbs
Full name: Ricky Allen Helling
Biography
Rick Helling was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1970, who played in Major League Baseball from 1994 until his retirement in 2006. Helling made his debut with the Florida Marlins and became known for his competitive spirit and determination on the mound. Over the course of his career, he compiled a record of 93 wins and 81 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.68. He struck out a total of 1,058 batters, showcasing his ability to dominate opposing hitters despite the challenges he faced throughout his career.
Helling was particularly notable for his contributions during the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period characterized by offensive explosion in Major League Baseball. While he did not register any saves, his role as a starting pitcher was significant, as he often took the ball in crucial games, demonstrating resilience and a strong work ethic. As part of a generation of pitchers navigating the evolving landscape of the game, Helling's career spanned various teams, including the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he left a lasting impact on the franchises he represented. His journey through the league reflected the trials and triumphs of a dedicated athlete in an era defined by both remarkable achievements and substantial challenges in the sport.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93 | 81 | 301 | 234 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1526.3 | 1540 | 793 | 247 | 562 | 1058 | 4.68 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | TEX | AL | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52.0 | 62 | 34 | 18 | 25 | 5.88 | -2885.7 |
| 1995 | TEX | AL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.3 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6.57 | -736.3 |
| 1996 | MIA | NL | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 1.95 | - |
| 1996 | TEX | AL | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.3 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 7.52 | -1424.3 |
| 1997 | MIA | NL | 2 | 6 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76.0 | 61 | 37 | 48 | 53 | 4.38 | - |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | 3 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.0 | 47 | 28 | 21 | 46 | 4.58 | 718.4 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | 20 | 7 | 33 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 216.3 | 209 | 106 | 78 | 164 | 4.41 | 512.0 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | 13 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 219.3 | 228 | 118 | 85 | 131 | 4.84 | -5190.7 |
| 2000 | TEX | AL | 16 | 13 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 217.0 | 212 | 108 | 99 | 146 | 4.48 | -1413.5 |
| 2001 | TEX | AL | 12 | 11 | 34 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 215.7 | 256 | 124 | 63 | 154 | 5.17 | -2399.0 |
| 2002 | AZ | NL | 10 | 12 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175.7 | 180 | 88 | 48 | 120 | 4.51 | - |
| 2003 | BAL | AL | 7 | 8 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 138.7 | 156 | 88 | 40 | 86 | 5.71 | -4738.4 |
| 2003 | MIA | NL | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0.55 | - |
| 2005 | MIL | NL | 3 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 | 39 | 13 | 18 | 42 | 2.39 | 1522.1 |
| 2006 | MIL | NL | 0 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.0 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 32 | 4.11 | -269.4 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 104 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 43 | 0.058 | 0.133 | 0.067 | 0.200 | -525.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | TEX | AL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | TEX | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | MIA | NL | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.111 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | TEX | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | MIA | NL | 31 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.091 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | 33 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | TEX | AL | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | TEX | AL | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | AZ | NL | 30 | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 0.043 | -525.2 |
| 2003 | BAL | AL | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | MIA | NL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | MIL | NL | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | MIL | NL | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NLCS | FLO | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| 2003 | NLDS1 | FLO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | WS | FLO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2002 | NLDS2 | ARI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | ALDS2 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1998 | ALDS2 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 25.0 | 25 | 12 | 8 | 26 | 4.32 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NLCS | FLO | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6.35 |
| 2003 | NLDS1 | FLO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 27.00 |
| 2003 | WS | FLO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6.75 |
| 2002 | NLDS2 | ARI | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
| 1999 | ALDS2 | TEX | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2.84 |
| 1998 | ALDS2 | TEX | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4.50 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 301 | 234 | 54 | 120 | 11 | 5 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | TEX | P | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | TEX | P | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | FLO | P | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | TEX | P | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | FLO | P | 31 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | TEX | P | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | TEX | P | 33 | 33 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | TEX | P | 35 | 35 | 4 | 24 | 3 | 2 |
| 2000 | TEX | P | 35 | 35 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | TEX | P | 34 | 34 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 | ARI | P | 30 | 30 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | BAL | P | 24 | 24 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003 | FLO | P | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | MIL | P | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | MIL | P | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 301 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | MIL | NL | $850,000 |
| 2003 | BAL | AL | $1,000,000 |
| 2002 | ARI | NL | $3,000,000 |
| 2001 | TEX | AL | $4,500,000 |
| 2000 | TEX | AL | $3,750,000 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | $2,250,000 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | $216,500 |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | $165,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $15,731,500 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | IL | 1991 |
| Stanford University | Palo Alto | CA | 1992 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 21th | 1.0 | 392 | 0 |