Eddie Collins
Eddie Collins was one of the greatest hitters of the dead-ball era, then continued to make solid contributions once the live-ball era began.
Collins first played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906, but he wasn't a full-time player until 1909. In that first full season, he hit .347 and stole 63 bases, making him one of the top tier of players already when he was just 22.
The next season, he became the first AL player ever to steal 80 bases in a season, leading the league with 81, and led the A's to the World Series, where he hit .429 with 4 stolen bases as Philadelphia beat the Cubs in 5 games.
He guided the A's back to the World Series the next year with a .365 average, and this time they beat the Giants in 6 games, even though Collins hit only .286. In 1912, he tied the record for stolen bases in a game twice within 11 days, swiping 6 bases each on September 11th and 22nd.
After missing the World Series in 1912, he led them back to the title series in 1913, this time beating the Giants in 5 games behind Collins'.421 average, which was lower only than that of Home Run Baker for the series, and he grabbed his 3rd championship in 4 years.
He was named the MVP in 1914 after leading the league in runs for the third year in a row and leading the A's to another pennant, but the A's were upset by the Braves, and it resulted in the owner blowing up the team, selling Collins to the White Sox for $50,000, the highest amount ever at that time, and the first time ever that a reigning MVP had been traded.
He led the league in walks in his first year in Chicago, keeping his reputation as one of the top players in the league, then led the White Sox to the World Series in his third year there, with another win over the Giants punctuating the season, with Collins batting .409 in the World Series.
Two years later, the White Sox returned to the World Series, this time losing as the result of the Black Sox scandal, in which 8 of his teammates were implicated for losing intentionally, with Collins one of the only starters who was not implicated.
He led the league in stolen bases twice late in his career, in 1923 and 1924, the latter of which was his first season as player/manager of the White Sox. After 3 seasons filling both roles in Chicago, he returned to the Athletics in the same position, and led them to two World Series titles in 1929 and 1930, though he only made 12 plate appearances in those 2 seasons combined, and did not play in either World Series.
Collins was known as a small-ball player, who was adept at reaching base and stealing bases. He is the all-time leader in sacrifice bunts, with a lead of more than 100 over the next player on the list. He had over 3300 hits in his career, currently #11 all-time, and is #8 in stolen bases and #17 in runs scored. He was always doing the small things needed to help his team succeed, and he did it so well for so long that he is still one of the best players of all time.
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