Collins is longest-tenured MLB player
Much has been made over the years about how the Mesa baseball program has produced so many future major league players. There have been 23 and few were simply one-season fill-ins. That group played a total of 150 MLB seasons.
But the player that has the most major league experience among former T-Birds is not quite a household name. He is Dave Collins, who played 16 years with seven different franchises.
The switch-hitting outfielder played for Mesa's 1972 NJCAA national champions.
Collins was originally drafted by the California Angels straight out of MCC and made his debut on June 7, 1975 with the Angels.
Possibly his most success came with the Cincinnati Reds where he had his only opportunity to play in the post season. In 1979 Cincinnati lost the NLCS to the eventual World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates despite the efforts of Collins who went 5-14 (a .357 batting average) and stole two bases in the three-game series.
That year was an outstanding one for the Rapid City, SD, native when he hit a career-high .318. He followed that with a .303 average and had an amazing 79 stolen bases.
In 1984, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, he led the American League with 15 triples and batted .308.
During his career the speedy Collins stole a total of 395 bases which even to this day ranks tied for 79th all-time in MLB history.
He retired after the 1990 season and coached at both the major and minor league levels as well as in college and high school.
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