Shunted Aside, Helms Says, Sees Green as Reds’ Choice

Tommy Helms said the Cincinnati Reds management has passed him by in the search for a manager and is identifying him as a candidate only as a courtesy.

He said he believes that the Reds already have decided on Dallas Green as the new manager.

Helms, a Reds coach since October, 1982, finished the 1989 season as interim manager after Pete Rose was banned from baseball amid gambling allegations. But Helms, in an interview published today, said he has been all but ignored in the search for a new manager.

Green, a former New York Yankees manager, said Sunday he will decide by the end of the month whether he wants the job. General Manager Bob Quinn, who met Friday with Green in Philadelphia, is telling reporters that the job has not been offered to anybody.

Asked whether he thought he had been treated fairly during the search, the 48-year-old Helms said, “No, not whatsoever.”

“They called in all my coaches and told them that if they could find a better deal to go ahead and take it,” he told the Cincinnati Post. “But they didn’t call me in. No one told me I was fired, rehired or anything.”

“Dallas is the man. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s obvious. . . . He’s been the guy for about 30 days,” Helms said. “Is the call I’m going to get a courtesy call or what?

“Sure I’m angry. I know what’s going on. I was born at night, but not last night.”

Quinn said last week that he plans to interview Helms on Tuesday. But Helms said he had not been given a definite date or time for the meeting.

Quinn and Reds owner Marge Schott did not return telephone calls today.

“I read all this stuff in the papers, but no one has tried to talk to me,” Helms said. “I have nothing against Dallas Green. I’ve known him a long time, and he’s a good baseball man. But the thing that gets me is I keep hearing about all this loyalty stuff. Well, who’s more loyal than me? I’m probably the most loyal person the Reds could even think about, plus I know the team.”

The Reds were 14-21 under Helms. But he instilled a sense of discipline in the clubhouse, and several Reds players voiced support for him at the end of the season.

“My record may not have been great, but I wouldn’t change a thing I did. I did the best I could do. I just didn’t have the bullets,” Helms said.

“If this goes on like this, I’ll still be a fan of the Reds’ players. I’ll always be that,” he said. “But I won’t be a fan of the Reds’ management. They’ve laid me out to dry.