Terry Collins

Terry Collins (born May 27, 1949) is a former manager of the Houston Astros, the Anaheim Angels, and the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League. He was a shortstop in the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations who never broke into the big leagues. In 1980, he retired from playing to manage the Dodgers' Class-A Lodi affiliate in the California League. In 1983, he managed the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers' AAA affiliate, where in 1987, he would win the PCL championship. He managed three years in Buffalo, the Pirates' AAA affiliate before being promoted to bullpen coach in by|1992.

After the by|1993 season, the Houston Astros fired manager Art Howe and replaced him with Collins, who never had a losing season in his three years there. Unfortunately, he never won a division title, finishing second all three years. He was fired after the by|1996 season. Collins' success caught the attention of the Anaheim Angels, and he was hired as manager. His first two years saw more of the same pattern: winning records and second-place finishes. by|1999, however, was a rather forgettable year, as the Angels were hampered by injuries and Collins resigned with 29 games left in the season. He apparently received a vote of confidence from the front office, but the players had petitioned GM Bill Bavasi to fire him.

He returned to managing in the minor leagues with the Las Vegas 51s, and when manager Jim Tracy was released as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers after the by|2005 season, he was one of the top candidates for the job. The job, however, was given to former Red Sox manager Grady Little.

At the end of the 2006 season, Collins signed a three-year deal to manage the Orix Buffaloes of the Pacific League in Japan.

Terry resigned as manager of the Buffaloes on May 21st 2008 after a 7-3 inter-league loss to the Hanshin Tigers. Orix were in 5th place in the Pacific League with a 21-28 record, despite investments in players such as Alex Cabrera in the prior off-season. Injuries to the Buffaloes pitching staff certainly didn't help Collins' situation. However, the Buffaloes bounced back and finished second in the end of that season after Terry's leave.