Third Baseman, Boston
Americans
Age: 33
3rd season
with Americans
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’9” Weight: 178
Prior to 1903:
Born in Niagara
Falls, New York, Collins grew up in Buffalo where he graduated from St.
Joseph’s College (actually, a prep school) where he received a business
education. He played baseball with amateur teams before turning professional in
1893 with the Buffalo Bisons of the Eastern League. He batted .286 in 76 games with
19 extra-base hits (15 of them doubles) and 10 stolen bases, although he was
erratic in the field at shortstop. Shifted to the outfield in 1894, he hit .352
with 51 doubles, 12 triples, 9 home runs, and 18 stolen bases. In the
offseason, the Boston Beaneaters of the NL purchased Collins’ contract from
Buffalo for $500. Playing as a substitute for an outfielder who was holding out
in 1895, he both hit and fielded poorly and was sold to the Louisville Colonels
for $500 with a recall option. Starting out in the outfield with the Colonels
he was soon moved to third base with more positive results. When Boston
attempted to exercise its recall option on Collins in August, he threatened to
retire and return to his former railroad job in Buffalo. Finishing out the
season in Louisville, he batted .273 with 20 doubles, 5 triples, 7 home runs,
57 RBIs, and a .347 on-base percentage. The Beaneaters traded their starting
third baseman in the offseason to clear a spot for Collins and his negotiations
with the team owner led to a holdout in April but resulted in an $1800 deal for
1896. Appearing in 84 games he hit .296 with 20 extra-base hits, 46 RBIs, and a
.374 OBP. Strong-willed and pragmatic, with a good business sense, Collins
again held out for more money in 1897 and accepted an offer of $2100. He went
on to bat .346 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, 6 home runs, 132 RBIs, a .400 OBP,
and a .482 slugging percentage. An agile fielder who was particularly adept at
handling bunts down the third base line, Collins was also a solid line-drive
hitter. In the offseason, he signed on to travel with the All-America Baseball
team on a tour across the country. He signed with Boston for the maximum NL
salary of $2400 in 1898 and felt cheated when the season was extended to 154
games. He hit .328 with 35 doubles, 5 triples, and a league-leading 15 home
runs, to go along with 111 RBIs, a .377 OBP, and a .479 slugging percentage. His
outstanding all-around play continued in 1899 as he batted .277 with 28
doubles, 11 triples, 5 home runs, 92 RBIs, a .335 OBP, and a .386 slugging
percentage. He was similarly productive in 1900. In the offseason he invested
in real estate with the plan to build rental units, which would provide income
following his playing career. He also jumped to the new American League in 1901
as player/manager of the new Boston franchise. Accepting a three-year deal for
$10,500, he guided the Americans (aka Pilgrims) to a second-place finish in
1901 while batting .332 with 42 doubles, 16 triples, 6 home runs, 94 RBIs, a
.375 OBP, and a .495 slugging percentage. In the field he topped AL third
basemen with 328 assists. Boston placed a solid third in 1902 and Collins hit
.322 with 21 doubles, 10 triples, 6 home runs, 61 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, a .360
OBP, and a .459 slugging percentage. He remained solid defensively. The ever
business-savvy Collins had renegotiated his salary up to double his original
level by 1903 and, while concentrating more on his managerial duties, he
remained an outstanding and popular player.
1903 Season Summary
Appeared in 130
games
3B – 130
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 582 [15]
At Bats – 540 [10]
Runs – 88 [8,
tied with Sam Crawford]
Hits – 160 [10,
tied with Willie Keeler]
Doubles – 33 [6]
Triples – 17 [4,
tied with Freddy Parent]
Home Runs – 5 [10,
tied with Topsy Hartsel & Herm McFarland]
RBI – 72 [11]
Bases on Balls
– 24
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 28
Stolen Bases – 23
[17]
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .296
[13, tied with Elmer Flick]
OBP - .329 [19,
tied with Harry Bay]
Slugging Pct. -
.448 [8]
Total Bases – 242
[8]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 13
Sac Flies – N/A
Midseason snapshot: 2B – 15, 3B – 7, HR - 2, RBI - 34, SB – 9, AVG - .274, OBP - .309, SLG – .399
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. White Sox 7/11
Longest hitting
streak – 17 games
HR at home – 4
HR on road – 1
Most home runs,
game – 1 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. Chi. White Sox 6/6, vs. Chi. White Sox 7/11
Pinch-hitting – No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 460
Put Outs – 178
Assists – 260
Errors – 22
DP – 19
Pct. – .952
Postseason
Batting: 8 G (World Series vs. Pittsburgh)
PA – 37, AB –
36, R – 5, H – 9, 2B – 1, 3B – 2, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 1, SB
– 3, CS – N/A, AVG - .250, OBP - .270, SLG - .389, TB – 14, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0,
SH – 0, SF – N/A
---
The Americans went 91-47 to win the AL pennant by 14.5 games over the Philadelphia Athletics while leading the league in runs scored (708), hits (1336), triples (113), home runs (48), RBIs (609), batting (.272), slugging (.392), and total bases (1928). Following a slow start in April, a strong May performance put the Americans into contention and they moved into first place to stay in June, propelled by outstanding hitting and pitching. Won World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3. With Boston down 3-games-to-1 in the best of 9 format, ace RHP Cy Young won Games 5 and 7 and RHP Bill Dinneen picked up wins in Game 6 and the decisive Game 8.
Aftermath of 1903:
Boston won another pennant in 1904 following a close race against the New York Highlanders (now Yankees). Collins batted .271 with 33 doubles, 13 triples, 3 home runs, 67 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, a .306 OBP, and a .379 slugging percentage. There was no opportunity for a World Series repeat due to the refusal of New York Giants owner John T. Brush to allow his NL pennant-winning club to participate. The Americans were an aging team and Collins clashed with new owner John I. Taylor, who sought to take a more active role in running the team than his predecessors. Collins had failed to integrate new talent into the lineup and was not adept at evaluating talent. The Americans dropped to fourth in 1905 while Collins hit .276 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 4 home runs, 65 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, a .330 OBP, and a .370 slugging percentage. In 1906 Collins appeared in only 37 games as he stepped away from the club to concentrate on providing for his personal financial future. Accused of deserting the team, which dropped into the AL cellar, he contributed little on the field. Newly married, he returned to the club in 1907 as a player only and was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics in June. For the year he batted a combined .278 with a .332 OBP. He played one more season with the A’s in 1908 and was clearly fading at 38 as he hit .217 with a .258 OBP. For his major league career, Collins batted .294 with 1999 hits that included 352 doubles, 116 triples, and 65 home runs. He scored 1055 runs and compiled 983 RBIs, 194 stolen bases, a .343 OBP, and a .409 slugging percentage. With the Americans Collins batted .296 with 881 hits, 448 runs scored, 171 doubles, 65 triples, 25 home runs, 385 RBIs, 102 stolen bases, a .336 OBP, and a .423 slugging percentage. His World Series appearance in 1903 marked his only postseason action. Collins’ managerial record was 455-376 with two pennants and one World Series title. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945, two years after his death at age 73.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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