As someone who played Major League Baseball for 15 seasons covering nine teams, Jason Marquis got to meet his share of stars.

And on several occasions, the former two-time city champion pitcher for Tottenville High School was a teammate of an eventual Hall of Famer. The two most recent examples of that occurred on Tuesday with the announcement of Todd Helton and Joe Mauer being voted into the Cooperstown shrine along with Adrian Beltre.

In 2009, Marquis was part of a Colorado clubhouse that included Helton, a career-long Rockies slugger who made the Hall on his sixth try, earning 79.7% of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America (75% is needed to qualify). The slick-fielding first baseman was a .316 career hitter with 369 home runs, 1406 RBI, a .414 on-base percentage and a .539 slugging average.

“Todd was obviously the ultimate competitor,” said Marquis from his New Jersey home. “He probably had the best hand-eye coordination of any player I knew, and his bat-to-ball skills were off the charts. He had an amazing ability to foul off pitches, then put the barrel of the bat on the ball. He had a combination of power and contact skills.”

Helton, who preceded Peyton Manning as the starting quarterback at the University of Tennessee, “was the ultimate teammate … a team-first guy,” said Marquis, who arguably had his greatest season in his one year with the Rockies, going 15-13 and making the National League All-Star team.

While some critics have pointed to the discrepancy in Helton’s home and road stats, Marquis downplays that.

“Most times, players are better at home than on the road, that’s only normal,” Marquis said. “You feel more comfortable, you’re used to the batter’s eye in your home park and you get to sleep in your own bed.

“You can’t fault a guy for playing on the team that drafted him, Plus, his road numbers are still very good (a .285 average, .391 on-base and .442 slugging). If he hit .240 on the road, then you can say something.”

Helton was a five-time All Star, four-time Silver Slugger winner and a three-time Gold Glove winner. “The only thing Todd didn’t have was speed,” Marquis said, “but he made up for that by being a smart baserunner.”

Marquis was a teammate of Mauer — who made it to Cooperstown on his first year of eligibility — during the former Prince’s Bay resident’s brief stint with the Twins in 2012.

“Joe could flat-out hit,” Marquis said of the 2009 AL MVP. “He had a great run for six or seven years, although I’m a big longevity guy. Joe played first base later in his career, so he might not compare to those Hall of Fame catchers who played behind the plate 13-14 years.

“As time went on, I figured he’d get in, but I didn’t see him as a first-ballot guy. I always believed that, when you hear someone’s name, you should automatically think he’s a Hall of Famer. Still, it’s nice to see another of my teammates get in.”

Mauer, a native of St. Paul, drew praise for being able to produce in his Minnesota hometown.

“[Mauer] handled it phenomenally. He was unbelievable in the community, and unbelievable as a human being,” said Marquis, who noted that regardless of whether you play for one team for your whole career like Helton and Mauer or for multiple like he did, “you get to put on a Major League uniform. That’s the end goal.”

Beltre, another first-ballot selection, played for four franchises and arguably was better after he turned 30 years of age. He finished with 477 homers, 1707 RBI, a .480 slugging average and five Gold Gloves.

“[Beltre] matured as a player,” Marquis said. “He was a ‘super tool-sy’ infielder and he had that longevity (21 seasons). He was a leader wherever he went and was successful wherever he went. When I was growing up, he was the type of player that would’ve been a no-brainer for the Hall. He impacted every team he was on.

“He played with energy and was a tough out. He was in the lineup against me in my first Major League start [when Marquis was pitching for the Braves and Beltre was playing for the Dodgers],” recalled Marquis. “He played with passion and happiness.”

While Marquis didn’t talk much about those players who came up just short of the Hall’s call, like reliever Billy Wagner, he feels that those caught up in the steroid scandals of the 1990s are being unjustly treated.

“You have to compare the players to those who played in the same era, and it’s tough to discredit what some of those guys did,” said Marquis. “You still need a skill set to hit a ball.

“It’s a shame, they should be given more of a consideration. These guys were great ballplayers with or without the performance-enhancing drugs. Now, I would never tell a kid to cheat, ever; I never did. But what about the ‘clean’ pitcher who wins 17 games — but who won five of those games thanks to home runs from guys who used steroids? Are you going to penalize the pitchers and take away those wins?”