Kevin Collins (baseball)
Kevin Michael Collins (born August 4, 1976 in Springfield, Massachusetts), is a former Major League Baseball infielder with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Detroit Tigers. He played primarily as a third baseman and sometimes as a second baseman. He also played a few games at other positions, including shortstop, first baseman and outfielder.[1]
Collins was signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent on January 1, 1964 after a high school career at Springfield Tech High School.[2] He began his professional career in 1964 with the Florida Mets, the Mets Rookie League minor league baseball team.[3] He played in 44 games that season, getting 118 at bats and posting a batting average of .220.[3]
In 1965, Collins made his Major League debut with the Mets on September 1. He played in 11 games for the Mets in 1965, splitting time between third base and shortstop, getting 23 at bats and a batting average of .174.[1]
In 1966, Collins played the entire season in the minor leagues at the Mets class-AA affiliate, the Williamsport Mets. Collins appeared in 122 games for Williamsport, almost entirely as a shortstop, and batted .251 with 6 home runs in 411 at bats.[3]
Collins was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns, the Mets class-AAA affiliate in 1967. There, he played several infield positions, sharing time at second base with Ken Boswell, at shortstop with Sandy Alomar and at third base with Amos Otis.[4] In all, Collins played 119 games for Jacksonville in 1967, getting 420 at bats and 3 home runs, with a batting average of .248, a slugging percentage of .321 and an on-base percentage of .289.[4] Collins also played in 4 games with the Mets in September 1967, getting one hit in ten at bats.[1]
In 1968, Collins again started the year with Jacksonville. He played 28 games at Tidewater, batting .248 in 101 at bats before being promoted to the Mets.[3] With the Mets in 1968, Collins played in 58 games, mostly as a third baseman. He batted .201 in 154 at bats.[1]
Collins began the 1969 season with the Mets. He played 16 games for the Mets, all at third base, getting 40 at bats but only batting .150. His last game with the Mets before being demoted to the Mets new class-AAA affiliate in Tidewater was on May 4.<ref name=Ultimate Mets - Kevin Collins Game Log|url=http://www.ultimatemets.com/profile.php?tabno=4&PlayerCode=0096%7Caccessdate=2008-10-12}}</ref> Collins played in 11 games for Tidewater, batting .250 in 32 at bats before being traded to the Montreal Expos.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d "Baseball-Reference - Kevin Collins". Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ "The Baseball Cube - Kevin Collins". Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Ultimate Mets - Kevin Collins Minor League Statistics". Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ a b "Jacksonville Suns 1967". Retrieved 2008-10-12.