Editing Jimmy Collins (section)

==Playing career==

===Minor leagues===
Collins began his professional [[baseball]] career with the [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] [[Buffalo Bisons (1886–1970)|Buffalo Bisons]] of the [[Eastern League (1884–1912)|Eastern League]], the forerunner of the current [[International League]], in 1893. That season, he was used primarily as a [[shortstop]], batting .286 in 76 games.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=collin003jam Jimmy Collins Minor League Statistics & History]</ref>

In 1894, Collins was moved to the [[outfielder|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.<ref name=br>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colliji01.shtml Jimmy Collins Statistics and History]</ref>

===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.<ref name=br/> He was soon made the team's starting third baseman, batting .279 over the remainder of the season. His larger impact was on defense, where he played in on the grass rather than back to cut down on the number of bunt hits.<ref name=sabr>{{sabrbio|7068ba1f|Stan Hamlet|6 July 2012}}</ref>

===National League star===
Collins was returned to the Beaneaters after the 1895 season. [[Joe Harrington (baseball)|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.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harrijo01.shtml Joe Harrington Statistics and History]</ref>

[[File:Boston Beaneaters infield.jpg|thumb|left|300px| Jimmy Collins (center, below) with infielders [[Bobby Lowe]], [[Fred Tenney]] and [[Herman Long (baseball)|Herman Long]].]]
Collins asserted himself as a skilled player in 1897 when he held a .346 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] and [[runs batted in|knocked in]] 132 runs. He led the league in both [[putout]]s and [[assist (baseball)|assist]]s 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 run]]s.

===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 (baseball)|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.<ref name=sabr/> The two traded accusations in the press, and Collins went further, accusing National League owners of conspiring to hold down salaries, stating "I would not go back now if they offered me the whole outfit."<ref name=sabr/> Collins recruited other National League stars for the Americans' roster, including [[Cy Young]],<ref name=sabr/> and in his first season as [[player-manager]] guided the team to a second-place finish, four games behind the [[1901 Chicago White Stockings season|Chicago White Sox]].

===First World Series===
In 1902, Collins was limited to 108 games by injury, and the Americans finished third.<ref name=sabr/> He did hit the team's first ever inside-the-park grand slam home run. The next season, Collins led the Americans to their first American League [[pennant (sports)|pennant]], winning the league by {{frac|14|1|2}} games over the [[1903 Philadelphia Athletics season|Philadelphia Athletics]].

With an agreement in place for the champions of the American and National Leagues to meet in a best-of-nine "[[World Series]]", Boston represented the Junior Circuit. After losing two out of three at home to start the series, then losing the first game in Pittsburgh, the Americans won the next three in Pittsburgh, then returned home to win Game Eight in Boston to become the first-ever World Series Champions. Collins himself batted .250 in the Series, with a pair of [[triple (baseball)|triple]]s and five [[run (baseball)|runs scored]].

===Remaining career===
The Americans won the pennant again in 1904, with Collins batting .271 and leading the league in putouts for the fifth time in eight seasons. However, the Americans would not get the opportunity to defend their title, as [[John McGraw]] and the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] refused to play them in the postseason.

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.<ref name=sportinglife>{{cite news|last=Morse|first=J. C.|title=Manager Jimmy Collins, of the Boston Americans, Again Suspended|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1906/VOL_47_NO_26/SL4726027.pdf|access-date=6 July 2012|newspaper=Sporting Life|date=September 8, 1906}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=sportinglife/> He also missed the end of the season with a knee injury.<ref name=sabr/>

Collins began the 1907 season with Boston, but it was only a matter of time before he departed. For reasons that have never become clear, Stahl had committed suicide during [[spring training]];<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e96a130c |title=Chick Stahl |first=Dennis |last=Auger |website=[[Society for American Baseball Research|SABR]] |access-date=November 3, 2018}}</ref> instead of Collins, the Americans turned to Cy Young as manager, following by [[George Huff (coach)|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 (baseball)|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 (20th century)|American Association]], then spent two seasons with the [[Providence Grays (minor league)|Providence Grays]] in the Eastern League before retiring.