He appeared briefly with the Reds in 1964, making his major league debut on September 23, 1964 against the Philadelphia Phillies with one plate appearance that year. He also had a short stint with the Reds in 1965, with 46 plate appearances. On September 1, 1965 during a doubleheader, Helms went 4-4 with two triples. Helms\' first full season in the majors was 1966. A natural shortstop, Helms was moved to third base by the Reds his rookie season with Leo Cárdenas firmly entrenched at short. Helms clubbed nine home runs, batted .284, and provided sparkling defense at his new position to earn the 1966 National League Rookie of the Year.\n', '

In 1967, the Reds shuffled their line-up, moving budding superstar Tony Pérez to third, Helms to second, and Pete Rose from second base to left field. As a second baseman, Helms was a member of the National League All Star Team in 1967 and 1968, and won the National League Gold Glove award in 1970 and 1971. The Reds moved to Riverfront Stadium in June, 1970, and Helms hit the first Reds home run on July 1. Helms started all five games of the 1970 World Series, with four hits and one walk in 19 plate appearances as the Reds fell to the Baltimore Orioles.\n', '

During his Gold Glove season of 1971, Helms set a Reds record turning 130 double plays. He led National League second basemen in double plays in 1969 and 1971, fielding percentage in 1970, 1971 and 1974 and assists in 1972.\n', '

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