A versatile, slap-hitting speedster with good defensive skills, Collins emerged as a base-stealing threat in spot duty with the Angels. He became a Mariner through the expansion draft, but was peddled to Cincinnati a year later. He became a fair leadoff hitter, usually platooned. He stole a career-high 79 bases in his only season as an everyday player, 1980, and hit .300 twice for the Reds. He became a free agent after 1981 and signed with the Yankees, who were briefly infatuated with his speed. Except for a big 1984 season with Toronto, when he led the AL with 15 triples while hitting .308, he was an unspectacular performer, mostly used for his speed on the bases and in the field, for the rest of his career.
