To Reds’ Helms, It’s No-Win Position, but He’ll Take It

Tommy Helms sat quietly in the corner of the conference room, waiting for his introduction from Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott.

It was Aug. 24, and Helms had just been named interim manager of the Reds, a job he dreamed of throughout his 21 seasons as a major league player and coach.

But this was a position he didn’t want, at least not under these circumstances. He was replacing Pete Rose, his best friend, who had been banned indefinitely from baseball by the late Commissioner Bart Giamatti in the wake of gambling charges.

Helms didn’t plan on fielding questions from reporters that day. He was supposed to be playing golf, as he usually does on the Reds’ off-days, but a rainstorm had canceled that trip.

“That’s what I will always remember about that day,” he said. “The rain. It rained all day.”

The rain seemed appropriate for Rose’s last day as manager. Injuries and gambling charges against Rose distracted the Reds most of the season, Helms said.

He inherited a club in fourth place with a 61-66 record, 12 games behind the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

And Schott didn’t waste any time adding extra pressure, either.

“I guess you noticed this guy who came in with me--he is going to take over,” Schott told reporters at the news conference. “Everybody welcome Tommy Helms . . . and will you win the next 10? OK?”

Well, Helms hasn’t managed the Reds to 10 consecutive victories. He didn’t even win the next three.

But Helms has guided the Reds to a 9-8 record since he took over, including an 8-2 loss to the Dodgers Monday night. They have won six of their last 11 games.

Helms didn’t find Schott’s challenge very amusing. He had coached under Rose for seven seasons and felt uncomfortable taking over his team.

“No one can compare to Pete,” he said. “Hell, he’s a monument as far as baseball is concerned. I just have to be myself and do what I think is right. If I don’t do things my own way, then I would be trying to compare myself to him. I don’t want that.”

Rose was his boss, and his buddy. They roomed together on the road. They golfed. And they talked managing baseball.

“It was a very, very sad day when I was hired,” he said. “Everybody took it pretty hard around here with Pete. The thing that really helped me was when Pete called me and told me to take the job. He told me I would do a good job.”

Red shortstop Barry Larkin said Helms made a big impression on the team in his first clubhouse speech as manager.

“He told us he was sorry for the way things ended with Pete,” Larkin said. “Everyone wants to compare him to Pete and that’s not fair. He has his own style of managing and it seems to work.”

Outfielder Ken Griffey, who is in his 17th season in the majors, said Helms “manages about the same way Pete did.”

“Except now we don’t have that cloud hanging over our heads and Pete’s head,” he said. “The big thing is that the problems with Pete are over and done with. That was a bad thing for us all year.”

Griffey said Helms “is pretty soft-spoken” for a manager.

“He’s always been good with the players,” Griffey said. “The young ones and the old ones. Some people would change on a dime after becoming the manager. But he hasn’t.”

Helms often calls on his experience as a player when managing. He started his career in the San Diego minor league system in 1959, was traded to Cincinnati in 1964 and was named the National League rookie of the year in 1966.

An infielder throughout his playing career, Helms has helped develop Larkin as one of the top shortstops in the league.

“Managing is instinct,” Helms said. “It’s what you feel. It’s knowing the club and what to do in a situation.”

Although Helms has been listed among the candidates for the position next year, he said he isn’t sure what he’ll be doing on opening day.

“If I would get the job and we leave spring training next year healthy, we would have a pretty darn good team,” he said. “It’s been a long year. I have a lot of admiration for the players. They’ve had to put up with a lot of distractions.”

Griffey said he hopes the interim tag will be removed from Helms’ title. He said Helms hasn’t had enough time to show what he can do.

“He needs to be given a decent shot at the beginning of next year,” Griffey said. “Anyone who takes over late in the season with an interim position should automatically get a shot the next year.”

But for now, Helms treats the interim position for what it is, an opportunity.

“I went into this knowing that I can’t worry about something I can’t control,” he said. “It took me 21 years in the major leagues, seven as a coach and 14 as a player, for an opportunity like this. And it may never come along again.”

DODGERS A HIT

Dodgers unleash 16-hit attack on Cincinnati for 8-2 win. Scott Howard-Cooper’s story, Page 4.