Going down under for the World Baseball Classic

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

For many, the chance to represent your country in the World Baseball Classic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Astros coach Michael Collins, it’s become routine.

Collins, whose main responsibility is working with Houston’s catchers, will be heading to Japan later this week to join the Australian national team’s preparations for the World Baseball Classic. Collins, an Aussie, will be coaching first base -- the third time he’s been on the coaching staff for the WBC. He also played in the tournament twice for Australia.

“The group is already together in Japan,” he said. “A lot of those guys have been working on some stuff together once the Australian season finished, kind of getting ready for this. Myself and some of the other coaches who are in professional baseball will join the team on the fourth of March and try to hit the ground running.”

Collins will be the first of a large contingent of Astros coaches and players who will leave camp to train with their countries. And none of them will travel as far as Collins, who’s used to long international flights. He routinely travels to Australia each offseason to see his family, though last year’s short winter on the heels of a World Series title prevented him from going down under.

“I think for anyone, any time you get to put on your country’s uniform, you get this sense of pride,” he said. “Being a part of the Australian teams in the past, it’s always felt like it’s team-first, where regardless of who you are, where you’ve played, where you’ve coached, what you’ve done in the game, as soon as you put on that Australian uniform you’re in it together for that tournament. The team really does come first.”

Collins, 37, is from Canberra, Australia, and is in his fifth season with the Astros -- his third as a Major League coach (he was a bullpen catcher for two years). He joined the Astros after seven years (2011-17) in the Padres system, including six years as a Minor League manager.

Collins also managed his hometown Canberra Cavalry team to a championship in Australian Baseball League.

Collins originally signed with the Angels as a 16-year-old and played 10 years as a catcher and first baseman in the Minor Leagues before retiring as a player after the 2010 season.

He reached Triple-A Portland that season, getting eight at-bats at the highest level of the Minors.

“I managed in the Minor Leagues and that’s definitely something I really, really enjoyed and something in the future, I’d like to continue that,” he said. “I love the dugout and being involved in the game.”

Australia, which is managed by Dave Nilsson, is competing in Pool B with Japan, Korea, China and the Czech Republic from March 9-13 in Tokyo. The top two teams advance to the quarterfinals, with Japan and Korea residing as the heavy favorites in the group to move on. Australia’s best WBC finish is ninth place in 2017.

“The expectations are always to go out there and compete and try to play a quality ballgame,” Collins said. “It’s such a short tournament so it really does come down to who performs on the day. Anyone can win any game. The odds may not be in your favor, so I think ultimately our goal is to go out there for each game and try to compete and let it all hang out and see what happens at the end of nine innings.”