59: Ray Collins-MLB

So many baseball players have had their careers cut short by injury. Some of those careers might be considered marginal, and others might be considered a tragedy based on the fact that the career was on an upward trajectory and headed for greatness. Ray Collins, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1909 and into the 1915 season had one of those careers. His last full season, 1914, at the age of 27, Collins went 20-13 – this followed a campaign in which he went 19-8. But, 1915, Collins developed shoulder issues, went 4-7 and never pitched in the Majors again. And that’s a shame because Collins was a stalwart on the Boston pitching staff. He was a key ingredient in Boston’s 1912 World Series win over the New York Giants, and was able to hold his own against opposing pitchers the likes of Cy Young and opposing hitters the likes of Ty Cobb. Collins, who hails from Vermont, is also regarded as one of the best ever to suit-up for the University of Vermont. In fact, Collins was enshrined into the University’s Hall of Fame. While pitching for Vermont, Collins also pitched in Class D minor league baseball, something you could do back in the early 1900s, and he was a dominant force. Several major league teams took notice of Collins and wanted to sign him. But, it basically came down to two: the  New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Collins decided on the latter, mostly because they played closest to his home state of Vermont. Tom Simon, somewhat of an expert when it comes to baseball players who grew up in Vermont, and a member of SABR, joins the podcast for a wonderful discussion on a career that was cut short by injury, the career of Ray Collins.

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