Highlighted Year: Jimmy Barrett, 1903

Outfielder, Detroit Tigers

Age:  28

3^rd season with Tigers

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 170 

Prior to 1903:

A Massachusetts native who was orphaned at age six, Barrett was raised by uncles and began playing baseball professionally in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont when he was 21. In 1898 he joined the Oswego Grays of the New York State League and played shortstop until committing six errors in two games, which caused him to be shifted to third base. Moving on to Taunton in July, Barrett was moved to right field and impressed with his hitting and speed. He batted .330 with 20 outfield assists in 53 games. He started 1899 with Detroit of the Western League, scored 117 runs and hit .331 until his contract was sold to the Cincinnati Reds at the end of August. An immediate success as a leadoff-hitting right fielder for the Reds, he batted .370 in 26 games with a .477 on-base percentage and 30 runs scored. His speed and aggressiveness made him a fan favorite. Barrett moved to center field 30 games into the 1900 season. He went on to hit .316 with 11 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, 42 RBIs, 114 runs scored, 44 stolen bases,and a .400 OBP while striking out a league-leading 63 times. Barrett jumped to the Detroit Tigers of the new American League in 1901, signing a contract for $3000. He batted .293 with 16 doubles, 9 triples, 4 home runs, 110 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, and a .385 OBP, and as in Cincinnati, he became popular with Detroit fans for his style of play. Following an offseason of barnstorming, he returned to the Tigers in 1902 despite the threat of legal action by the Reds, seeking to regain his services. He hit .303 with a .397 OBP. Barrett also signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Detroit.

1903 Season Summary

Appeared in 136 games

CF – 136

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 616 [3]

At Bats – 517 [19]

Runs – 95 [3, tied with Willie Keeler]

Hits – 163 [7, tied with Buck Freeman & Lave Cross]

Doubles – 13

Triples – 10 [19, tied with Lou Criger]

Home Runs – 2

RBI – 31

Bases on Balls – 74 [1]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 67 [5]

Stolen Bases – 27 [10]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .315 [4]

OBP - .407 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .391 [16]

Total Bases – 202 [15]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 6 [10, tied with eight others]

Sac Hits – 18 [14, tied with Patsy Dougherty, Lefty Davis & Lee Tannehill]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading bases on balls drawn were +4 ahead of runner-up Billy Lush

League-leading OBP was +.016 ahead of runner-up Topsy Hartsel

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 4, HR - 2, RBI – 15, SB – 11, AVG - .304, OBP – .378, SLG – .381

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. White Sox 4/29

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 5 AB) vs. Bos. Americans 5/15, (in 3 AB) vs. Phila. A’s 6/26

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 0

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 vs. Bos. Americans 8/13

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 337

Put Outs – 303

Assists – 19

Errors – 15

DP – 7

Pct. - .955 

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The Tigers went 65-71 to finish fifth in the AL, 25 games behind the pennant-winning Boston Americans while leading the league in OBP (.318), fewest doubles (162) and fewest home runs (12, tied with the St. Louis Browns). The Tigers broke out fast with a 5-1 start before fading in May and never rising above fourth place the rest of the way. As during the previous year, it was effective pitching that fueled any success the club had as, other than Barrett and outfield newcomers Billy Lush and Sam Crawford, the offensive production was lacking.

Aftermath of 1903:

With the Tigers in 1904 Barrett again led the league in walks drawn with 79 while he hit .268 with a .353 OBP. Plagued by a knee injury in 1905, he was limited to 20 games, and he was still bothered by the injury in 1906 when the Reds purchased his contract on a conditional basis. After failing to produce a hit in 12 at bats, he acted as a player/manager for Dayton of the Central League for a month, when he was released. Moving on to Rochester of the Eastern League a few weeks later, Barrett managed to play in 74 games and batted .277, although his range in the outfield was significantly reduced. Returning to the American League with the Boston Americans in 1907, he hit .244 in 106 games. Released by Boston early in the 1908 season, he played three years with Milwaukee of the American Association and retired in 1913. For his major league career, Barrett batted .291 with 962 hits that included 83 doubles, 47 triples, and 16 home runs. He scored 580 runs and compiled 255 RBIs, a .379 OBP, and 143 stolen bases. With Detroit he batted .292 with 383 runs scored, 660 hits, 59 doubles, 30 triples, 10 home runs, 174 RBIs, a .382 OBP, and 92 stolen bases. He went into a business career following baseball and died from a stroke at age 46 in 1921. A good and popular player at his best, his failure to fully recover from a severe knee injury brought his career to an end (if only he had the benefits of modern sports medicine at that time).

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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. 

Highlighted Year: Jimmy Collins, 1903

Third Baseman, Boston Americans

Age:  33

3^rd 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

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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

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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.