Reds Tommy Helms PASSED

Reds: Tommy Helms, the slick-fielding infielder for the Reds who was the 1966 NL Rookie of the Year and had two short stints as the team’s manager, has died. He was 83. The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum said Helms’ wife, Cathy, told the organization that her husband died Sunday in Cincinnati. The cause of death wasn’t provided. Helms was known more for his glove than his bat in 1,435 games over 14 seasons. He was an All-Star in 1967-68 and won Gold Gloves as the National League’s top-fielding second baseman in 1970-71, years in which he and shortstop Dave Concepcion formed the best double-play combination in the game. When the Reds signed Helms out of Charlotte, North Carolina, as an amateur free agent in 1959, he was thought to be the team’s shortstop of the future. But while Helms was moving through the minor leagues, Leo Cárdenas was establishing himself as one of the major leagues’ best shortstops. When Helms earned a roster spot to start 1966, the Reds had him replace Pete Rose at second base and had Rose move to third. Rose couldn’t get comfortable at third, so Helms moved to the hot corner after just 20 games and became the NL’s second-leading fielding third baseman. He also had one of his best offensive years. He batted .284, and his nine homers and 72 runs were career highs. Helms split time between short and second base in 1967 and was the full-time second baseman in 1968. He had been a fixture in the Reds’ lineup for six seasons before becoming part of the blockbuster trade with the Astros that brought Joe Morgan, César Gerónimo and Jack Billingham to the Reds. Those three became key pieces to the Big Red Machine teams that won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Helms played 417 games at second base for the Astros from 1972-74 and then had limited roles with the Astros, Pirates and Red Sox the next three seasons. His only postseason appearance was on the 1970 Reds team that swept the Pirates in the NLCS and lost in five games to the Orioles in the World Series. Helms became a Reds coach in 1983, first under manager Russ Nixon and then under Vern Rapp and Rose. Helms managed 27 games in 1988 while Rose was serving a 30-day suspension for making physical contact with an umpire. He managed 37 more in 1989 after Rose was banned for life for gambling on baseball. Helms was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1979.
World Baseball Classic: Aaron Judge will be the U.S. captain at next year’s World Baseball Classic, the same role the two-time AL Most Valuable Player fills with the Yankees. Mark DeRosa made the announcement Monday, four days after he was appointed U.S. manager for the second straight WBC. Judge takes over from the Angels’ Mike Trout, who was captain at the 2023 tournament. The U.S. lost the 2023 championship game to Japan 3-2 as Shohei Ohtani struck out Trout, his then-Angels teammate, to end the game. Judge, who turns 33 on April 26, is the first player announced for the U.S. roster.