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Jimmy Collins

Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.

Jimmy Collins was born on Sunday, January 16, 1870, in Buffalo, New York. Collins was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 19, 1895, with the Boston Beaneaters. His height was 5 feet 9 inches with weight 178 pounds. Until Pie Traynor came along in the 1920s, Jimmy Collins was universally considered baseball's greatest third baseman. Playing at the turn of the century, when the bunt was a big part of the game, Collins was the best at fielding them. His 601 chances accepted at Triples 1899 remain a National League record. He led his league's third basemen in putouts five times, assists four times, double plays twice, and still stands second all-time in career putouts at Triples.

He was also outstanding at the plate. He topped the 0.300 mark five times, with a high of 0.346 for Boston in 1897. In 1898, he won the National League home run crown with 15, drove in well over 100 runs for the second consecutive season, and scored more than 100 runs for the third of four times. He was the player-manager of the Red Sox in the American League's first six seasons, leading Boston to a victory over Pittsburgh in the initial World Series in 1903. Relieved of the managerial reins in 1907, Collins was traded to the Athletics, and he left the majors after batting .217 in 1908. He played and managed in the minors through 1911 before retiring to his native Buffalo. Wiped out by the Depression, he became a Buffalo parks employee. His 1945 election to the Hall of Fame preceded Traynor's by three years, though Traynor had been eligible before Collins's induction.

Unfortunately he died on 06 March 1943, in Buffalo, New York. He was a player with amazing playing skills. His performance in each and every game was full of energy and he was active in every game. His talents were seen in his every match.

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