Jimmy Collins did a lot of things beautifully on the baseball diamond that may not be considered sexy, but they went unnoticed, and he generated a Hall of Fame career out of it, which included five seasons with the Boston Beaneaters.
After debuting for Boston in 1895, he was loaned to Louisville, only to return before the 1896 Season. Collins would win the starting Third Base job, and he was considered to be one of the better defensive players at that position, which he showed by leading the NL in Defensive bWAR in 1899 and was in the top five as a Boston Beaneater three other times. He was also very capable with the bat, an expert bunter, and led the NL in Home Runs (albeit with only 15) in 1898. That year, he was seventh in Batting Average and second in Slugging Percentage. His overall numbers with the team would see him generate 821 Hits with a .309 Batting Average. His run with the Beaneaters ended when he jumped to the Boston Americans of the American League in 1901.
Collins would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 when he was chosen by the Old Timers Committee.
Charlie Buffinton began his career with the Boston Red Stockings in 1882, and in the following year, when the team renamed themselves the Beanaters, Buffinton became a star Pitcher, where he would win 20 Games each year from 1883 to 1885. The sinkerball specialist had an incredible 1884 campaign, going 48-16 with a 2.15 ERA and finishing third overall in bWAR among pitchers. It should also be noted that Buffinton was a good hitter, batting .255 for Boston over his career. Boston thought Buffinton was done after a bad 1886 season, and they sold him to the Philadelphia Quakers, where he rebounded and went on to win 233 Games.
Specifically, as a Beaneater, Buffinton went 104-70 with 911 Strikeouts.
Rico Carty may have been popular, but he was not necessarily lucky. While a member of the Atlanta Braves, Carty would miss two complete seasons, 1968 due to tuberculosis and 1971 due to a severe knee injury. In that time frame, Carty put forth an incredible 1970 season, leading the National League in Batting Average (.366) and On Base Percentage (.454), and posting career power highs of 25 Home Runs and 101 Runs Batted In. Carty was so good that he was voted an All-Star that year, despite having to be a write-in candidate, making him the first to accomplish that! Carty’s overall numbers as a Brave would see him play 828 Games with a Slash Line of .317/.388/.496.