Eddie Collins hit above .400 in three Fall Classics. He was the original, Mr. October. However, he failed to hit a home run, unlike Reggie Jackson who hit 'em and hit 'em and hit 'em, from 1973 to 1981!
Collins was on his way to the Hall Of Fame, when he appeared in his first World Series in 1910. His team, the Philadelphia Athletics, were up against a great Chicago Cubs team. They were 104-50 that season, and looking for another Fall Classic title, having won in 1907 and 1908.
Collins and his 'mates were in the way. He had only one hit in game one, but he eventually scored after he hit it. Collins added a walk for good measure. Chicago lost the game, 4-1. Eddie was just getting started. His three hits in game two powered Philly to a 9-3 win.
But going just 2-10 in the next two games dropped his average to .375. His team, however, got a split and needed just one more win to take it all. And they'd have plenty of chances, for the Athletics were up three games to one.
Collins swatted three hits in game five, boosting his batting average to .429 and leading Philadelphia to another win. That locked up the World Series. Too bad they didn't give out MVPs back then, eh? I think we had our winner! Wait! Jack Coombs won his third game of this five-game affair, so he probably would have gotten it!
Philly won it all again in 1911, but Eddie hit "just" .286. The Boston Red Sox were too strong in 1912 (Pre-Babe Ruth) and deprived Philly of three in a row. But an injury to Smokey Joe Wood (Plus Ruth would not be there full time until 1915), opened the door for the 1913 Fall Classic. The city of Brotherly Love was in for another Fall Classic triumph!
And another .400 performance by Eddie Collins.
He just couldn't be stopped in game one. Collins was not retired in his four trips to the plate. Poor Rube Marquard. The New York Giants pitcher lasted just five inning in that game at the old Polo Grounds. Collins was one of the reasons why. But his single in the top of the first failed to score a run. Collins was stranded.
But Collins tripled and scored in the top of the fourth. He scored on a single. Two more runs scored that inning on another triple. Eddie had struck the match. He added a walk to his three total hits on the day and it was the Athletics who came away with a 6-4 win.
It was the Giants' great Christy Mathewson who squared things at one with a shutout in game two. Eddie was held to just one hit against Christy. But another three hit game by Collins led the way to an 8-2 win by Philly in game three. The Giants never recovered from this loss.
It was close the rest of the way, however. The Giants lost by just a single run in game four, and even held Collins hitless. In game five, with the Giants needing a win to stay alive, Philly eked out a 3-1 win, wrapping up the Fall Classic. Mathewson lost the game, but held Collins to just one hit.
Philadelphia had won it, Collins had struggled against a legend. But two games of three hits was enough to produce a batting average of .421. However, few noticed. It was really Frank, "Home Run" Baker's time to shine in this World Series. He hit .450, swatted a home run, and knocked in seven runs. Kinda of hard to notice Eddie in all that.
But Collins was back with Baker the next year. It was all Boston in the 1914 Fall Classic. Collins hit just .214 and Baker hit just .250. The Boston Braves needed just four games to win it all.
Eddie was on the 1917 Chicago White Sox. No, this was not the Black Sox team. But many members of this team were there two years later, including Eddie. Collins was not a part of the fix. As mentioned by me in an earlier post, this Fall Classic was interesting. Chicago was shutout in back-to-back games, and in the regular season, worse! The White Sox were no-hit back-to-back days! The New York Giants no longer had Mathewson, but the way Chicago played, it looked like they did! Were they giving it their all?
Well, enough with my suspicions. After all, they're just suspicions. Collins out-hit Shoeless Joe Jackson by a wide margin. But in game one in Chicago, despite the win, Eddie and Joe were in the same boat. The "No-hit" boat. Chicago could take solace in the fact that they had an experienced player like Collins on their team.
In game two, Chicago played much better. They won 7-2 as Collins got two hits and an RBI. Jackson was on fire, 3-3 with two RBIs. But then Joe came undone!
Chicago lost the next two games. Remember what I wrote earlier? That's right, back-to-back shutouts. Funny, that happened two years later! You think?
But Collins had two hits in game three. But Rube Benton gave up just three other hits. Shoeless Joe Jackson did not get any hits. The Polo Grounds was the backdrop to this affair. Maybe it was just the change of scenery. But really, Collins must have felt right at home!
Collins singled in the top of the first with two down. But Shoeless Joe grounded back to Benton. With the score 2-0, Giants in the top of the ninth, and with two down, Collin singled again. And again Jackson was retired. Well, so much for the sweep!
Game four, same story. A shutout by the home team. This time, it was a rout. Well, it was close until the Giants scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth. 5-0 was the final. Collins singled and walked. Jackson was 0-4. Series, dead even!
But in game five back in Chicago, back in Comiskey Park, Collins got three hits. Joe Jackson also got three hits, but it took him five at-bats. Collins was 3-4 and added a walk. Both scored two runs. The White Sox won this one, 8-5. One more win!
This time, Chicago went back to the Polo Grounds and beat Benton, 4-2. Collins and Jackson had only one hit each. But when it was all over, Chicago was the World Series champions for 1917. And Collins had hit .409. Jackson hit only .304.
Ironically, Collins hit just .226 in his last Fall Classic, the infamous 1919 World Series. But Collins finished his World Series career with a .328 batting average. And having hit over .400 in three Fall Classics, he'd almost single-handily helped his teams win those three. Before Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, their was Eddie Collins!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
Philly won it all again in 1911, but Eddie hit "just" .286. The Boston Red Sox were too strong in 1912 (Pre-Babe Ruth) and deprived Philly of three in a row. But an injury to Smokey Joe Wood (Plus Ruth would not be there full time until 1915), opened the door for the 1913 Fall Classic. The city of Brotherly Love was in for another Fall Classic triumph!
And another .400 performance by Eddie Collins.
He just couldn't be stopped in game one. Collins was not retired in his four trips to the plate. Poor Rube Marquard. The New York Giants pitcher lasted just five inning in that game at the old Polo Grounds. Collins was one of the reasons why. But his single in the top of the first failed to score a run. Collins was stranded.
But Collins tripled and scored in the top of the fourth. He scored on a single. Two more runs scored that inning on another triple. Eddie had struck the match. He added a walk to his three total hits on the day and it was the Athletics who came away with a 6-4 win.
It was the Giants' great Christy Mathewson who squared things at one with a shutout in game two. Eddie was held to just one hit against Christy. But another three hit game by Collins led the way to an 8-2 win by Philly in game three. The Giants never recovered from this loss.
It was close the rest of the way, however. The Giants lost by just a single run in game four, and even held Collins hitless. In game five, with the Giants needing a win to stay alive, Philly eked out a 3-1 win, wrapping up the Fall Classic. Mathewson lost the game, but held Collins to just one hit.
Philadelphia had won it, Collins had struggled against a legend. But two games of three hits was enough to produce a batting average of .421. However, few noticed. It was really Frank, "Home Run" Baker's time to shine in this World Series. He hit .450, swatted a home run, and knocked in seven runs. Kinda of hard to notice Eddie in all that.
But Collins was back with Baker the next year. It was all Boston in the 1914 Fall Classic. Collins hit just .214 and Baker hit just .250. The Boston Braves needed just four games to win it all.
Eddie was on the 1917 Chicago White Sox. No, this was not the Black Sox team. But many members of this team were there two years later, including Eddie. Collins was not a part of the fix. As mentioned by me in an earlier post, this Fall Classic was interesting. Chicago was shutout in back-to-back games, and in the regular season, worse! The White Sox were no-hit back-to-back days! The New York Giants no longer had Mathewson, but the way Chicago played, it looked like they did! Were they giving it their all?
Well, enough with my suspicions. After all, they're just suspicions. Collins out-hit Shoeless Joe Jackson by a wide margin. But in game one in Chicago, despite the win, Eddie and Joe were in the same boat. The "No-hit" boat. Chicago could take solace in the fact that they had an experienced player like Collins on their team.
In game two, Chicago played much better. They won 7-2 as Collins got two hits and an RBI. Jackson was on fire, 3-3 with two RBIs. But then Joe came undone!
Chicago lost the next two games. Remember what I wrote earlier? That's right, back-to-back shutouts. Funny, that happened two years later! You think?
But Collins had two hits in game three. But Rube Benton gave up just three other hits. Shoeless Joe Jackson did not get any hits. The Polo Grounds was the backdrop to this affair. Maybe it was just the change of scenery. But really, Collins must have felt right at home!
Collins singled in the top of the first with two down. But Shoeless Joe grounded back to Benton. With the score 2-0, Giants in the top of the ninth, and with two down, Collin singled again. And again Jackson was retired. Well, so much for the sweep!
Game four, same story. A shutout by the home team. This time, it was a rout. Well, it was close until the Giants scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth. 5-0 was the final. Collins singled and walked. Jackson was 0-4. Series, dead even!
But in game five back in Chicago, back in Comiskey Park, Collins got three hits. Joe Jackson also got three hits, but it took him five at-bats. Collins was 3-4 and added a walk. Both scored two runs. The White Sox won this one, 8-5. One more win!
This time, Chicago went back to the Polo Grounds and beat Benton, 4-2. Collins and Jackson had only one hit each. But when it was all over, Chicago was the World Series champions for 1917. And Collins had hit .409. Jackson hit only .304.
Ironically, Collins hit just .226 in his last Fall Classic, the infamous 1919 World Series. But Collins finished his World Series career with a .328 batting average. And having hit over .400 in three Fall Classics, he'd almost single-handily helped his teams win those three. Before Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, their was Eddie Collins!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
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