Jimmy Collins

James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. In 1945, Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the Boston Beaneaters, Louisville Colonels, Boston Americans, and Philadelphia Athletics. He also managed the Americans.

Collins was especially regarded for his defense. He was best known for his ability to field a bunt—prior to his debut, it was the shortstop who fielded bunts down the third base line—and is regarded as a pioneer of the modern defensive play of a third baseman. He is second all-time in putouts by a third baseman, behind only Brooks Robinson. At the plate, Collins finished his career with 65 home runs, 1055 runs scored, 983 RBI and a .294 batting average.

In 1894, Collins was moved to the outfield by the Bisons. He batted .352 with nine home runs in 125 games, and after the season his contract was purchased by the Boston Beaneaters for $500.

Major league debut Collins began his major league career as a right fielder, playing ten games at the position with the Beaneaters in 1895. On May 19, 1895, he was loaned to the Louisville Colonels, again for $500.

National League star Collins was returned to the Beaneaters after the 1895 season. Joe Harrington was the club's starting third baseman at the beginning of the season, but Collins soon asserted himself as the starter, and Harrington was released in July.

Jimmy Collins (center, below) with infielders Bobby Lowe, Fred Tenney and Herman Long. Collins asserted himself as a skilled player in 1897 when he held a .346 batting average and knocked in 132 runs. He led the league in both putouts and assists as well, a feat he would duplicate in 1900. He followed with an equally impressive 1898 season, in which he hit .328—seventh in the league—drove in 111 runs and belted a league-high 15 home runs.

Jumping to the American League Following the 1900 season, Collins, who was by now regarded as the best third baseman in the game, was offered the manager's job with the Boston Americans of the new American League. He accepted the job, which came with a salary of $5,500, a $3,500 signing bonus, and a cut of the team's profits, despite efforts by Beaneaters owner Arthur Soden to keep him.

In 1905, the Americans slipped to fourth place, and Collins clashed with team president John I. Taylor, reportedly quitting on the team during the season. As a player, Collins batted .276, but again missed time due to injury. In 1906, Collins found himself in hot water, as not only were the Americans in last, but he himself was suspended twice, and was eventually replaced as manager by Chick Stahl. instead of Collins, the Americans turned to Cy Young as manager, following by George Huff, and then Bob Unglaub, all within the first three months of the season. After playing 41 games with the Americans, Collins was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics in June for infielder John Knight. While he batted .278, he had a career-low (to that point) .330 slugging percentage, and failed to hit a home run for the first time in his career. In 1908, he slumped even further, batting just .217, and was let go.

After his major league career ended, Collins continued to play and manage in the minor leagues. He spent 1909 with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, then spent two seasons with the Providence Grays in the Eastern League before retiring.

Honors

When Collins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945, he was the first to be chosen primarily as a third baseman. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. Collins became a charter member of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Managerial record Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultBOA 1367957 2nd in AL – – – –BOA 1377760 3rd in AL – – – –BOA 704030 1st in AL 5 3 .625 Won World Series (PIT)BOA 1539162 1st in AL 0 0 – World Series not played (NYG)BOA 1527874 4th in AL – – – –BOA 1143579 fired* – – – –Total 831 455 376 5 3 .625 Remained as a player only

Personal life Jimmy Collins married Sarah Murphy in 1907, and the couple had three daughters, though their first died at a very young age.