TUCSON — The word association game was easy.

Todd Helton.

"He's the face of the Colorado Rockies," first baseman Brad Hawpe said. "He's done a lot of good things, not only for the Rockies, but for the game, and for the people in the Rocky Mountains. He's the ultimate professional. He's a star."

The face wore a frown last year. Back problems that had been bothering Helton for more than two years became too much for him to play through.

"When my legs started getting numb, it was a problem," Helton said.

Helton, limited to only two games after July 4, and having undergone surgery in October, spent his offseason dealing with the back problem. He is starting slowly this spring training, having sat out the first two games while making sure his back is ready for the test of a baseball season.

But Helton is eager to be back on the field for the 2009 season.

"I have a lot to prove, not only to everybody else, but to myself," Helton said. "I want to prove I am healthy, I can play and I can make it through the whole season. I am fully confident I can, but what I say doesn't mean anything. What I do is what matters."

What Helton didn't do last year lingers. Never in his life had he been sidelined for an extended period of time, physically unable to play baseball. The idle time underscored to Helton how much playing the game means to him, and it gave him the determination to return as a quality player this year at the age of 35.

It's not reasonable to think that Helton will reach the levels he once did — he is a five-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner — but the Rockies fully expect him to play 130 games or so, hit third on a regular basis and be a catalyst in helping them rebound from a teamwide disappointment last season.

"An ordinary Todd Helton is better than most players," pitcher Aaron Cook said. "Having him back is a big lift for us. He's the guy we all look to."

And to a man, Rockies players will stand up for Helton.

"He's done a lot to help every one of us," Hawpe said. "He stood up for us. In 2006, when people were making fun of us for being young, he's the one who said he believed in what the franchise was doing. He said he liked our direction and thought we were going to win.

"Next year, we were in the World Series. Todd meant a lot. It was not only (manager) Clint Hurdle and (general manager) Dan O'Dowd saying they believed in us, but it was the franchise who did, too."

Helton is a guy who makes the rest of the Rockies better. The team didn't have a player drive in 100 runs last season, which scouts and managers of other teams said is a direct result of pitchers not having to deal with Helton.

"He's that guy who wears the pitcher down in the late innings," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "You get him 0-2, and next thing you know it's 3-2 and he's fouling off pitches. It's not that you pitch the other guys in the lineup different. It's just he takes a toll on the pitcher."

Helton is an intimidator to a stranger.

"My first spring, I was intimidated by him," shortstop Troy Tulo- witzki said. "He was approachable, but he's not flamboyant. He is quiet, but watching everything. If you have a question, you can go to him and he will answer anything, but he's not going to force himself on anybody."

Well, he might throw a zinger at a new face.

"My first spring," recalled Hawpe, a first baseman when he signed, "we're taking groundballs during batting practice and he says, 'If you want to play in the big leagues, you better get another glove. You're not going to be playing first base here.'"

Intimidating?

"No, it helped me relax," Hawpe said.

But Helton is a player who makes an impact.

"In 2002, I was in the minor league camp but got called up for a game with the big-league team," Clint Barmes remembered. "I was taking batting practice and he threw a couple words at me. I went back to the hotel that night and called my parents. I had to tell them that Todd Helton acknowledged me. He made me feel like I belong."

Now, Helton is working to prove that he still belongs.

It's a challenge he welcomes, and one his teammates expect him to meet.

ETC.: Omar Quintanilla went 2-for-2 and Jeff Baker doubled and scored the Rockies' run in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Hi Corbett Field. ...Baker scored on Joe Koshansky's second-inning fielder's choice groundball. ... Eric Young Jr., who started at second base, and Dexter Fowler, who entered the game defensively in center field, both had stolen bases.

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