Bob Helsom

Robert E. Helsom

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Pepperdine University
• High School El Segundo High School

• Born August 3, 1958 in Santa Monica, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Bob Helsom played in the minor leagues from 1980 to 1984. At Pepperdine University, he played in the 1979 College World Series after leading the team with 62 RBIs to go with a .346 average. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent before the 1980 season, which he spent with the Oneonta Yankees of the New York-Penn League, hitting .263 in 51 games. In 1981, he hit .289 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs in 118 games for the Greensboro Hornets of the South Atlantic League, and in 1982, hit .295 in 103 games for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees of the Florida State League. This all looks fine, but it should be noted that he was older than the average player at every level, and that his home run power at Greensboro did not translate to the FSL, where he hit only 2 long balls.

On December 14, 1982, he was part of a trade that appears very strange when not considered within a larger context. That day, the Yankees sent three very marginal prospects - Helson and Ps Marty Mason and Steve Fincher to the St. Louis Cardinals in return for two blue-chip prospects, OF Stan Javier and SS Bobby Meacham, both of whom would go on to enjoy substantial careers at the big league level, while none of the three players acquired by the Cards had as much as a cup of coffee in The Show. The context to explain the seemingly lopsided deal is that one year earlier, the Cards had traded P Bob Sykes to the Yankees for minor league OF Willie McGee; Sykes had turned out to be injured, while McGee had had a great rookie season in 1982, even starring in the 1982 World Series. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was livid, and threatened retaliation. To appease him, the Cardinals agreed to the second trade, in order to even things up.

As for Helsom, he played two more seasons after the trade, peaking at AA with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League. He started 1983 with the St. Petersburg Cardinals, back in the FSL, where he hit .295 in 64 games to earn the mid-year promotion to Arkansas, In 64 more games there, he batted .253 and combined was .274 in 128 games, with 21 doubles, 12 homers and 65 RBIs. In 1984, he batted .248 in 108 games for Arkansas with 4 homers and 32 RBIs.