DENVER -- Colorado Rockies manager Buddy Bell will give Todd Helton every opportunity in his quest to hit .400.

	Masters at the plate
	A breakdown of the numbers between Ted Williams' season in 1941 and Todd Helton this year:
		Williams	Helton
	G	143	124
	AB	456	451
	R	135	114
	H	185	179
	2B	33	48
	HR	37	31
	RBI	120	110
	BB	145	80
	SO	27	42
	OBP	.551	.485
	SLG	.735	.718
	AVG	.406	.397

Bell said Tuesday that Helton probably will get only one or two days off in Colorado's final 36 games of the season.

"I wouldn't expect him to be happy if I decided he wasn't going to play because he didn't hit this guy or that guy very good. He's hit everybody," Bell said. "I think he has a better chance to hit .400 playing every day. Every time he goes up there he has a chance to get a hit."

Helton, who has missed just two games this year, was 1-for-4 in Colorado's 7-6, 12-inning win Tuesday night over the Atlanta Braves, dropping his average one point to .397. He is seeking to become the first player to break the .400 barrier since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

Williams had 185 hits in 456 at-bats when he accomplished the feat. Helton ended the game with 179 hits in 451 at-bats and already had enough plate appearances (534) to qualify for the batting title.

Facts and figures
.400 hitters
Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals, 1924, .424
Nap Lajoie, Philadelphia Athletics, 1901, .422
Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, 1911, .420
George Sisler, St. Louis Browns, 1922, .420
Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, 1912, .412
Joe Jackson, Cleveland Indians, 1911, .408
George Sisler, St. Louis Browns, 1920, .407
Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox, 1941, .406
Hayrr Heilmann, Detroit Tigers, 1923, .403
Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals, 1925, .403
Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, 1922, .401
Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals, 1922, .401
Bill Terry, New York Giants, 1930, .401

Since Williams hit .406 in 1941, here are the top 10 single-season averages:

1. Tony Gwynn, 1994, .394
2. George Brett, 1980, .390
3. Rod Carew, 1977, .388
4. Ted Williams, 1957, .388
5. Larry Walker, 1999, .379
6. Stan Musial, 1948, .376
7. Tony Gwynn, 1997, .372
8. Andres Galarraga, 1993, .370
9. Tony Gwynn, 1987, .370
10. Ted Williams, 1948, .369

The previous chasers
Tony Gwynn, 1994

	Tony Gwynn Right fielder San Diego  Padres
	1994 SEASON STATISTICS G AB H HR RBI AVG 110 419 165 12 64 .394

When the strike ended the 1994 season on August 11, Gwynn was hitting .394 (165-for-419). If he had had three more hits, he would be in the record books as the last .400 hitter. Of course, there's also the debate about how he would have done if the season had played on.

From the calendar year of August 12, 1993 through the strike, Gwynn hit .392 in 131 games. Consider that Gwynn had hit .399 from July 1, 1993 to August 11, 1994 and it's easy to see that he could have threatened the .400 barrier.

He was also hot at the time -- he hit .423 after the All-Star break and .475 (19-for-40) in August. However, Gwynn had a history of tailing off a bit down the stretch, so he may have fallen short regardless.

George Brett, 1980

	George Brett Third baseman Kansas City Royals
	1980 SEASON STATISTICS G AB H HR RBI AVG 117 449 175 24 118 .390

Brett made a terrific run at Williams' fabled mark while battling a series of injuries. In a way, that helped him, since he played just 117 games and had 449 at-bats (meaning each hit raised his average more than if he had more at-bats).

Amazingly, Brett was hitting just .255 on May 23. However, he went on a tear and raised his average to .339 by June 10. He then sprained an ankle and was out until the All-Star break. In July, Brett began a 30-game hitting streak, during which he hit .467. He reached .400 on August 17 and at the end of the streak on August 18, Brett was hitting .404.

He entered September hitting .403. He missed 10 games with tendinitis in his right hand, but on September 20 was hitting .3995 -- .400 after you round up. Brett then slumped for a week (4-for-28) and his chance at .400 was over. By the way, Brett had 118 RBI in 117 games that year. How? He hit .469 with runners in scoring position.