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Kevin Michael Collins
New York Mets
Third Base-Second Base
Born: August 4, 1946, Springfield, MA
Signed: Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams: New York Mets 1965, 1967-69; Montreal Expos 1969; Detroit Tigers 1970-71
Died: February 20, 2016, Naples, FL (age 69)
Kevin Collins played in parts of six big league seasons, primarily with the Mets between 1965 and 1969. An infielder, he was frequently shuttled between the minor and major leagues while with New York, appearing in 58 games for the team in 1968 while batting .201. In June 1969, he was one of five players sent to Montreal for Donn Clendenon (#208), who would go on to win World Series MVP honors for the Mets. Collins appeared in a career-high 68 games in 1969 between the Mets and Expos, getting occasional starts at second or third base. His best season in the majors was also his last, as he batted .268 with the Tigers in 1971. Collins collected 81 hits while batting .209 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in his 201 games in the big leagues.
Kevin Collins played in parts of six big league seasons, primarily with the Mets between 1965 and 1969. An infielder, he was frequently shuttled between the minor and major leagues while with New York, appearing in 58 games for the team in 1968 while batting .201. In June 1969, he was one of five players sent to Montreal for Donn Clendenon (#208), who would go on to win World Series MVP honors for the Mets. Collins appeared in a career-high 68 games in 1969 between the Mets and Expos, getting occasional starts at second or third base. His best season in the majors was also his last, as he batted .268 with the Tigers in 1971. Collins collected 81 hits while batting .209 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in his 201 games in the big leagues.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #598
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Collins made the Mets opening day roster for the first time since 1965, but early offensive struggles led to his demotion to the minor leagues in early May. In 16 games with the Mets, he batted .150 (6 for 16) with three doubles. On June 15th, while playing for Triple-A Tacoma, Collins, three minor leaguers and Steve Renko were dealt to the Expos for Clendenon. Back in the majors, Collins appeared in 52 games for the Expos, batting .240. He holds the distinction of having the first pinch-hit home run in Expos' franchise history, a three-run home run off the Pirates' Jim Bunning (#175) on July 17th.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #581
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1965, 1969-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #553
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 16 in the Beckett online database as of 11/15/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. My second stop was the aptly named Vintage Sports table. I always appreciate a dealer with clear signage explaining their pricing method, and Vintage Sports had a marker in their selection of 1969 Topps cards laying out that cards without a sleeve were $1 and cards with a sleeve were $2. I had one "high number" in a sleeve, and that was a whopping $4.
I found 28 commons needed before moving on to my third stop. This was the 3rd of 28 total cards bought from Vintage Sports, and the 39th of 91 cards for the set added overall on the day. Unsleeved, this card cost less than $1 after a dealer discount.
Collins' rookie card appeared way back in the 1965 Topps set, and the photo used here is from 1964, given the World's Fair patch on his shoulder. The back of the card notes Collins would be battling for the Mets' third base job in 1969, and he was the third third baseman used by manager Gil Hodges (#564) before the season was two weeks old. Ed Charles (#245) and Amos Otis (#31) had both received try-outs before Collins made 11 starts at the position, struggling mightily at the plate. Wayne Garrett would emerge as the player earning the most starts at third for the Mets in 1969, with 63.
Accuracy Index: Collins scores a +5 for the accurate uniform depiction.
1969 Season
Collins made the Mets opening day roster for the first time since 1965, but early offensive struggles led to his demotion to the minor leagues in early May. In 16 games with the Mets, he batted .150 (6 for 16) with three doubles. On June 15th, while playing for Triple-A Tacoma, Collins, three minor leaguers and Steve Renko were dealt to the Expos for Clendenon. Back in the majors, Collins appeared in 52 games for the Expos, batting .240. He holds the distinction of having the first pinch-hit home run in Expos' franchise history, a three-run home run off the Pirates' Jim Bunning (#175) on July 17th.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #581
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1965, 1969-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #553
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 16 in the Beckett online database as of 11/15/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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