1941
Born May 5, 1941
Charlotte, NC, USA
Tommy Helms Marquee
b. May 5, 1941 · Cincinnati Reds 1964–1971, Houston Astros 1972–1975, Pittsburgh Pirates 1976–1977, Boston Red Sox 1977
He hit .284 with 23 doubles as Cincinnati's rookie third baseman in 1966 and took the award with 12 of the 20 votes, then moved to second base and won Gold Gloves there in 1970 and 1971. He was an All-Star twice and played in the 1970 World Series.
That November Cincinnati traded him, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart to Houston for Joe Morgan, César Gerónimo, Jack Billingham, Denis Menke and Ed Armbrister — the trade that built the Big Red Machine. Helms was the Astros' second baseman for four years.
Fourteen seasons gave him 1,342 hits, 223 doubles, 477 runs batted in and a .269 average, with 1,129 games at second base. He struck out 33 times in 1971 in 547 at bats. He coached and managed briefly in Cincinnati afterward. He died in April 2025, at eighty-three.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1967, 1968 |
| Gold Glove | 2 | 1970, 1971 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 | 1966 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1968 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year | 1 | 1966 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | CIN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1965 | CIN | 21 | 42 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | .381 |
| 1966 | CIN | 138 | 542 | 72 | 154 | 23 | 1 | 9 | 49 | 24 | 31 | 3 | .284 |
| 1967 | CIN | 137 | 497 | 40 | 136 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 24 | 41 | 5 | .274 |
| 1968 | CIN | 127 | 507 | 35 | 146 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 47 | 12 | 27 | 5 | .288 |
| 1969 | CIN | 126 | 480 | 38 | 129 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 18 | 33 | 4 | .269 |
| 1970 | CIN | 150 | 575 | 42 | 136 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 21 | 33 | 2 | .237 |
| 1971 | CIN | 150 | 547 | 40 | 141 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 52 | 26 | 33 | 3 | .258 |
| 1972 | HOU | 139 | 518 | 45 | 134 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 60 | 24 | 27 | 4 | .259 |
| 1973 | HOU | 146 | 543 | 44 | 156 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 61 | 32 | 21 | 1 | .287 |
| 1974 | HOU | 137 | 452 | 32 | 126 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 5 | .279 |
| 1975 | HOU | 64 | 135 | 7 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .207 |
| 1976 | PIT | 62 | 87 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 0 | .276 |
| 1977 | BOS/PIT | 36 | 71 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .225 |
| Career | — | 1435 | 4997 | 414 | 1342 | 223 | 21 | 34 | 477 | 231 | 301 | 33 | .269 |
On this day & linked events
2025
Died April 13, 2025
1964
Major-league debut: Tommy Helms
Tommy Helms made a major-league debut on September 23, 1964.
1977
Final major-league game: Tommy Helms
Tommy Helms played a final major-league game on October 1, 1977.
Image: Don Hunter, public domain