Last night, the Jamestown Jammers took on the Brooklyn Cyclones. Two Class-A Short Season affiliates of the Pirates and the Mets, the Cyclones won, 7-4. Danny Collins (left), a 6-2, 205 pound first baseman for the Jammers went 1-4 with a double and a run scored. The former-Troy University baseball star now holds a .257 batting average over 43 games scored, with 22 RBI's and 13 doubles.
Flash back to last summer, in Laconia, New Hampshire. Laconia is host to the New England Collegiate Baseball Franchise (NECBL) the Laconia Muskrats, created in 2010 after moving from Manchester. Formerly the Manchester Silworms, the Muskrats play at Robbie Mills Field, a park with a mock-green monster in left and played host to this years All-Star Game and HR Derby.
Last summer, though, the derby ran the whole summer at Robbie Mills due to a 6-2 first baseman who had the sweetest swing in New England.
The 2012 season started on June 8th for Laconia, playing host to the Sanford Mainers. Rain ended the game in the fifth inning, but not before Collins lit up the scoreboard with a home run to leadoff the fourth inning. He grounded out two other times, finishing 1-3 but had a good start to his first game of the summer.
A game later, he hit another solo shot. Two home runs through three games, Collins already drew the attention of fans across the NECBL, not used to power being on display
He hit four over his next 14 games, and that was when he really started heating up. A two-home run game against Newport. Another two bombs just a couple of days later against Sanford. Through 21 games, half the season, he'd hit ten home runs. To put that in perspective, the NECBL league-leader in home runs for the entire season hit seven. Not even halfway through the season, Collins already had three more home runs than the league leader this summer.
Over the next nine games, he put together a streak of three straight games with a home run, and totaled four more. Collins doubled the 2013 NECBL home run leader by game number 30, with 15 to spare.
He hit number 15 on July 20th against Danbury, a two-run blast, giving him momentum heading into the All-Star break on the 22nd.
The All-Star game proved to be a showcase for Collins. He participated in the Home Run Derby, and not even spacious Recreation Field, home of the Vermont Mountaineers, could contain him.
"It's just BP, in a bigger setting," Collins said afterwards. "I go out there, have a blast with it and good things happen."
Good things did happen, as he hit 13 home runs over the course of the derby, including a seven home run first round. One blast that went foul over the short fence in left field smashed the rear window of a Mountaineer sound technician.
"I hit one pretty well foul," on the fatal foul ball, "It went straight through a back windshield over there. He brought it to me and said it was in his cup holder and he actually had me sign it."
Collins also participated in the All-Star game as the Eastern Division starting third basemen, but went 0-2. His first at bat, against NECBL Pitcher of the Year Alex Haines, he flew out to right field. The next time around, he went down swinging against Danbury lefty Brett Houseal. He was than pinch-hit for, seeing as it was an All-Star game.
A popular saying is that home run derby's "mess up your swing." Much has been made of this so-called curse, but it didn't affect Danny Collins.
The next day, in a crucial 8-3 win against Newport, he hit his 16th home run of the year. He wasn't done yet, however.
A week later, on July 29th, Collins hit not one, not two but three home runs against Newport to bump his total up to 19. He finished the season with that total two days later, entering his name into the record books multiple times.
"The timing of my swing was probably the biggest factor of my success," Collins said on his record breaking season, "And I hope the 19 home runs stand for a while but provide future NECBL players something to shoot for."
If you ever visit NECBL.com, and look at the record book section, Collins name is there four times as well as a picture. The picture, on the right, shows him holding out a ball, with the number 19 on it. However, his home run total isn't the only thing he's in there for.
Danny Collins appears with his 130 total bases, 29 extra base hits and a .818 slugging percentage. All numbers that will be tough to break, and they weren't broken this year. The leaders in those categories this summer?
Expansion franchise Ocean State's Michael Gerber has a .565 slugging percentage, two are tied with seven home runs, Newport's Ben Roberts had 79 total bases and the most extra base hits with 22. The only one relatively close was Roberts and his 22 extra base hits, the cause for that was him setting the record for doubles with 18.
Collins also won the Rick Ligi MVP, and barely missed out on the batting average champion award by just 14 points, as his .390 mark wasn't quite enough. He also was named as the starting third basemen for the All-NECBL First Team, announced after the playoffs.
On his return to Troy the following season, Collins picked up where he left off, being named to the Louisville Slugger All-America team and to the prestigious Golden Spikes Award watch list. He was a key component of the "Fearsome Foursome," a lethal section of the potent Trojans lineup.
Collins (left) graduated from Troy, and had the choice to return to play another year due to his eligibility. He chose not to, and after being selected in the 13th round and the 389th pick, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"Getting drafted by the Pirates is something I'll never forget," Collins said. "It was a special moment that I got to share with my family and fiance."
Collins signed alongside Jeff Roy (left), a University of Rhode Island graduate who played against him in the NECBL All-Star game. Roy was a member of the North Adams SteepleCats, and has his name in the record books as well. Roy had a .960 stolen base percentage for North Adams, a NECBL record. Now, both of them are currently on the Jammers.
The 5-9 outfielder from Cranston, Rhode Island has already swiped 20 bases as well as 24 runs scored to go along with a .303 batting average. Roy has played 44 games, which is all but one of the Jammers season.
"The minor leagues are definitely different from college because you play a game everyday, and obviously the talent is quite a bit better," Collins said in an interview. "And, at the same time, it is very hard to be away from my family."
On June 24th, Collins earned New-York Penn League Player of the Week honors and has been consistent throughout his first minor league season.
"The easiest past has to be getting up and going to work everyday," he mentioned. "Because after all that is just going out on the field and playing baseball."
Danny Collins is past the college stage of his baseball career, but one thing is sure. Neither him, the Laconia Muskrats or the NECBL will forget him.
"There is no question, the summer I had in Laconia helped me put my name out there to the scouts," he said. Now, he prepares for his next game in the grind that is minor league baseball, as he works to climb the ladder to the show.
