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Injuries plague former Gator

Kevin Collins is confident his hitting will get him to the majors, if he stays healthy.

By MIKE TOMPKINS
Published August 11, 2005

LAND O'LAKES - Kevin Collins, the former Land O'Lakes standout who plays for the Chicago Cubs' Class A affiliate in Daytona, could be lost for the season with a foot injury.

This is the fourth season in a row that he has been hurt.

"It was hurting for a while, and they finally gave me a couple of days off," said Collins, who is tied for the team lead and tied for sixth in the Florida State League with 18 home runs despite having one at-bat in the past 13 games. "Then we were in a 13-inning game (a 6-4 loss July 25 to Dunedin) and I pinch hit. I hit a liner to center, and as I was running down to first, I felt something in the arch of my foot pop.

"Right now I have to wait and see what the results are after I go to Chicago and get an MRI. I'm in the best shape of my life, but I feel like I'm falling apart."

Last year at Lansing, Collins hit .289 with 26 doubles and 86 RBIs. Despite missing 27 games with a separated shoulder, he finished second in the Midwest League with 33 home runs, six behind teammate Brian Dopirak. In 2003, his first season at Lansing, a strained oblique muscle attributed to a .225 average in 89 games. In 2001, Collins hit 13 home runs and won the Northwest League batting title with Boise but missed time with a strained elbow ligament.

"Last season I think I would have hit at least 40 (home runs), maybe even 45, because when I came back, I had to hit with a shoulder brace for a week."

Before his lastest injury, Collins was on pace to have a productive year again. Had he continued to hit the way he had been, Collins could have finished with 25 to 30 home runs and 75 to 80 RBIs. His average is down to .265, but before he was hurt, he had been hovering between .275 and .280.

"I don't want to make excuses, but playing hurt is always going to affect someone," said Collins, a 24th-round selection by the Cubs in 1999. "The power numbers were going to be there. I'd like to think I was going to hit at least seven more home runs. I'd like to be a little more consistent, and cut down on the strikeouts, but I was going to get my home runs this year."

In his first season back in the Sunshine State, Collins hit over .400 in the first 10 games. Soon after, the bottom fell out. He hit .235 in a series against the Tampa Yankees, with friends, family, former coaches and a couple of former principals in attendance.

"It was nice that, even after six years, they care enough to come out and watch me," Collins said. "I just wasn't locked in then. These pitchers are a little smarter in this league. It's not so much that their stuff is better, they just know the better times to throw it."

Collins went 2-for-11 in the series, including a broken-bat triple. His ability to consistently adjust helped him turn things around.

"I have to change things every day, every at-bat," he said. "It's hard to pinpoint what works and what doesn't. ... I just have to keep progressing. If I continue to hit 30-or-so homers a year, my call will come. I'm not going to forget how to hit home runs. If I keep it up, I'll be knockin' on the door."

After graduating from Land O'Lakes, where he hit .400 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs as a senior, the 1999 Florida Athletic Coaches Association District 8 MVP attended Pasco-Hernando Community College, remaining Cubs property as a draft and follow.

He earned all-conference honors in his only season with the Conquistadors, hitting .280 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs.

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 00:43:15]