| Jim Kaat | |
|---|---|
 Kaat with the Minnesota Twins in 1965 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1938-11-07)November 7, 1938 (age 87) Zeeland, Michigan, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 2, 1959, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 1, 1983, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 283–237 |
| Earned run average | 3.45 |
| Strikeouts | 2,461 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2022 |
| Vote | 75% |
| Election method | Golden Days Era Committee |
James Lee Kaat (/kɒt/; born November 7, 1938), nicknamed "Kitty", is an American former professionalbaseball player and televisionsports commentator. A left-handedpitcher, he playedMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theWashington Senators / Minnesota Twins (1959–1973),Chicago White Sox (1973–1975),Philadelphia Phillies (1976–1979),New York Yankees (1979–1980), andSt. Louis Cardinals (1980–1983) for a then-record 25 years.
Kaat was anAll-Star for three seasons and aGold Glove winner for 16 straight seasons. He was the American League (AL) leader inshutouts (5) in 1962, and the AL leader inwins (25) andcomplete games (19) in 1966. In accumulating his 283 career wins, he had three 20-win seasons. Kaat won 190 games with the Senators/Twins (all but one win coming with the latter team), second most in club history and most since the team moved to Minnesota; he also has the most Gold Glove Awards of anyTwin with 12.[1]
After a brief stint as a pitching coach for theCincinnati Reds, Kaat became a sportscaster and for the next 22 years, calling games for theNew York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. Following a brief retirement in 2006, he called Pool D for the2009 World Baseball Classic in Puerto Rico, games forNESN in 2009, and worked for theMLB Network from its inception in 2009 until August 2022.[2]
Kaat was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame by theGolden Days Era Committee in2022.
Kaat hails from Dutch ancestry.[3] He was the youngest of four children born to John and Nancy (Bosma) Kaat.[4][5] He attended the schools ofZeeland, Michigan, and is a 1956 graduate of Zeeland High School.[6] During his high school years, he excelled at basketball and baseball.[6][7]
Kaat attendedHope College inHolland, Michigan, and pitched for the school's Flying Dutchmen baseball team, before being signed by theWashington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1957.[7]
Kaat spent all of 1957 and 1958 in the minor leagues before breaking into the majors in 1959 with the Washington Senators. After pitching in 16 games spread out over the next two seasons, Kaat became a permanent member of the pitching staff when the Senators franchise moved west in 1961 to become theMinnesota Twins. On July 24, 1963, Kaat threw a complete-game shutout and hit a home run for a 5–0 Twins win over the Indians.[8] Minnesota pitchers have only homered in the same game in which they threw a shutout three times, and Kaat did so twice, a second time on October 1, 1970.[9]
Kaat was a member of the 1965 Twins team that won theAmerican League pennant. He started three games in the1965 World Series against theLos Angeles Dodgers, matching up withSandy Koufax on all three occasions, including a complete game victory in Game 2.
His best season was in 1966, when he led the league with 25 wins and 19 complete games. He finished fifth in theMVP voting and was named theAmerican League Pitcher of the Year byThe Sporting News. TheNational League's Sandy Koufax won theCy Young Award by a unanimous vote; it was the last year in which only one award was given for all of Major League Baseball. Although his 1967 season was somewhat of a let down compared to 1966 (he finished 16–13 with a 3.04 ERA), he went on a tear in September and nearly pitched the Twins to another World Series appearance — cruising to a 7–0 record with a 1.51 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 652⁄3 innings pitched. However Kaat sustained a season-ending arm injury in the third inning of the second-to-last game and theBoston Red Sox swept the final two to win the American League pennant.
In 1974, he went 21–13, setting a record for largest gap between 20-win seasons at eight, a mark that stood until broken byDavid Cone in 1998.[10] Kaat recorded his third 20-win season in 1975, when he posted a 20–14 record and 3.11 ERA while throwing 303.2 innings at the age of 36; an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, he finished fourth in theCy Young Award voting.
Kaat was primarily a front of the rotationstarting pitcher until 1979 (when he turned 40 in his 21st season), twice leading the AL in starts, with 42 in 1965 and 41 in 1966. He became arelief pitcher that season, split between thePhiladelphia Phillies and theNew York Yankees, following three up and down years in the Phillies rotation for the (where he'd arrived in an off-season trade from theChicago White Sox withMike Buskey in exchange forDick Ruthven,Alan Bannister andRoy Thomas on December 10, 1975[11]). After just three games split between starting and relieving in Philadelphia, he was purchased by New York, which used him 40 times, 39 in relief. Transitioning into a specialist short reliever, Kaat pitched four more years and appeared in 180 games, 167 out of thebullpen. He earned his onlyWorld Series ring with theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1982, working in four games in relief in the1982 World Series.
Kaat appeared in 898 games, started 625, and threw for 4,530.1 innings. He was anAll-Star three times (1962, 1966, 1975), and won theGold Glove Award for defensive skill a record 16 consecutive times (1962–1977). His record for career Gold Gloves by a pitcher later fell toGreg Maddux's 18. Kaat used the samebaseball glove for 15 seasons.[12]
In 1983, he became the last major league player to have played in the 1950s and the last player for the original Washington Senators to retire. Kaat is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League games in four decades. At the time of his retirement, Kaat's 25-year career was the longest of any pitcher in major league history. He is now third all-time, behindNolan Ryan's 27 years andTommy John's 26.
Kaat also set a 20th-century record by playing during the administrations of sevenU.S. Presidents —Dwight D. Eisenhower,John F. Kennedy,Lyndon B. Johnson,Richard M. Nixon,Gerald R. Ford, Jr.,Jimmy Carter, andRonald Reagan. This mark was equaled by Nolan Ryan when he retired after the 1993 season, the first year of the administration ofBill Clinton.[7]
| Category | W | L | PCT | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WP | HBP | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 283 | 237 | .544 | 3.45 | 898 | 625 | 180 | 31 | 17 | 4530.1 | 4620 | 2038 | 1738 | 395 | 1083 | 2461 | 128 | 122 | [13] |
Upon retirement as a player, Kaat served a short stint with theCincinnati Reds as the club's pitching coach. WhenPete Rose took over in 1984 as the Reds' player/manager, he made good on a promise to Kaat, his formerPhiladelphia Phillies teammate, and hired the former hurler for his coaching staff. Kaat would coach part of the 1984 season and all of 1985, a year in which he guided Cincinnati rookieTom Browning to a 20–9 record. "At least I can say I had a 20-game winner every year I coached," Kaat used to joke.[citation needed]
In January 2018, Jim Kaat was hired by theMinnesota Twins as a Special Assistant.[14] Kaat's role is "to help assist Twins presidentDave St. Peter in business, marketing and community initiatives".[15]
As stated during the television broadcast of the seventh game of the1965 World Series, Kaat was a broadcaster on local radio in Minnesota. Following his stint as pitching coach, he went into sports broadcasting full-time starting out as the chief baseball correspondent forGood Morning America from 1984 to 1985.[16]
His first full-time broadcasting job was with the Yankees was during the1986 season, where he called around 100 games for WPIX.[17] He only lasted one season as the Yankees replaced him withBilly Martin, who was between managing stints and who was purposely brought in to second-guessLou Piniella.[18] In between broadcasting stints for the Yankees, he spent six years (1988–1993) as an announcer for the Twins.[18]
In 1986, Kaat was the backup announcer forNBC Sports' coverage ofbaseball with Phil Stone (for the April 19Minnesota–California contest) andJay Randolph (the July 14Cincinnati–Atlanta contest).[18] In April 1987 Kaat served as an announcer of Atlanta Braves broadcasts on TBS. In 1988, he covered theCollege World Series and the MLB playoffs and World Series forESPN and also served as an analyst forNBC's coverage of the1988 Summer Olympics.[16]
From1990–1993, Kaat served as an analyst forCBS television, teaming withDick Stockton and then,Greg Gumbel (for whom Kaat also called theCollege World Series with forCBS from1990–1993) in1993. Besides calling fourAmerican League Championship Series for CBS (1990–1993), Kaat served as a field reporter withLesley Visser (1990–1992) andAndrea Joyce (1991) during the World Series. Kaat also covered threeWorld Series Trophy presentations for CBS (1990–1992). Over the course of Game 2 of the1992 ALCS, Kaat was stricken with a bad case of laryngitis.[19] As a result,Johnny Bench had to come over from theCBS Radio booth and finish the game with Dick Stockton as a "relief analyst".[20] There was talk that if Kaat's laryngitis did not get better,Don Drysdale was going to replace Kaat on TV for Game 3 and possibly the rest of ALCS while Bench would continue to work on CBS Radio. In 1993, he filled in forLesley Visser until late August as CBS' primary field reporter after she suffered injuries in a bizarre jogging accident in New York City'sCentral Park.[21]
In 1994, he was the lead analyst onBaseball Tonight for ESPN's coverage ofMajor League Baseball. In 1995, he was nominated for a New YorkEmmy Award for "On Camera Achievement". Also in1995, Kaat called the American League playoffs withBrent Musburger forABC/The Baseball Network including theYankees–Seattle MarinersDivision Series[16] and theAmerican League Championship Series.
He served his second stint as an announcer for Yankees games on theMSG Network/YES Network (1995–2006),[18] where his straight-shooting style was much in the mode of former Yankees broadcastersTony Kubek andBill White. In addition, he was on the team which won the "Outstanding Live Sports Coverage – Single Program" New York Emmy for coveringDwight Gooden'sno-hitter on May 14, 1996, andDavid Wells'sperfect game on May 17, 1998.
Towards the end of his second stint with the Yankees, his workload decreased. In 2006, he only broadcast 65 games.[22] Despite his decreased workload, Kaat won another Emmy for on-air achievement in 2006.
In an on-air broadcast on September 10,2006, with booth partnerKen Singleton, Kaat acknowledged his plan to end his broadcasting career. His final appearance in the booth was to be aYankee–Red Sox game on September 15, 2006 (Kaat was also set to throw out the first pitch). However, the game was postponed due to rain. Kaat later announced that he was going to record a special farewell message to the fans, but would not return for any additional broadcasts. However, the following day, Kaat did announce one full inning of the first game of Saturday September 16's doubleheader onFox along withTim McCarver andJosh Lewin. During that Fox telecast he was able to say goodbye to the Yankee fans, an opportunity that the previous night's rainout had deprived him of doing on the YES Network.
After his retirement from calling Yankees games full-time, Kaat has made several single-game appearances on various networks. Kaat made a special one-inning appearance, during the third inning, on the YES Network on June 30, 2008, during aYankees–Rangers game. He also appeared live via telephone, during a Yankees–Blue Jays game on July 13, 2008, to discuss the recent death ofBobby Murcer. He joined theTBS Sunday Baseball team, for a single game on May 4,2008.
In2009, Kaat joined the recently launchedMLB Network as a color commentator for theirMLB Network Showcase series. Kaat also writes a weekly on-line blog for the Yankees (YES) Network, Kaat's Korner, and contributes video blogs and interviews regularly with national and international media outlets. One of the reasons he got back into regular broadcasting was because after his wife died,Tim McCarver and Elizabeth Schumacher, his friend and business manager, urged him to get back into the game. He also called Pool D in Puerto Rico for the2009 World Baseball Classic games for an international feed.[23]
Kaat broadcast the2021 American League Division Series between theWhite Sox andAstros for MLB Network. Kaat made headlines when he referred toNew York Yankees pitcherNestor Cortés Jr. as "Nestor the Molester" during a broadcast.[24] The next day, Cortés tweeted about Kaat, "He reached out to me and apologized for his remark last night, but he didn't need to. We all make mistakes and feel 100% there was no malice intended."[25]
After a four decade broadcasting career, Kaat announced his retirement on August 18, 2022, effective after that day's Yankees-Blue Jays game.[26]
From 1997 to 2005, Kaat won 7 Emmy Awards for excellence in sports broadcasting:[27]
Kaat started a sports management company, Southpaw Enterprises, Inc., solely representing pitchers.[28]
Kaat has written a best-selling book,Still Pitching.[28]
In May 2022, Kaat released his third book,Good as Gold: My Eight Decades in Baseball.[29]
Kaat married his first wife, Julie Moore, in October 1959,[30] and divorced in 1975. His marriage to his second wife, Linda, also ended in divorce. His third wife, MaryAnn, died in July 2008 after 22 years of marriage. Kaat created a memorial fund in her name to put lights on the baseball fields in his hometown ofZeeland, Michigan, in her honor.[31] Kaat and MaryAnn have four children and six grandchildren. Kaat married his fourth wife, Margie, in 2009.[32]
Kaat's grandparents were born in theNetherlands.[3] He is fromZeeland, a major farming area, where he grew up. Kaat said he would have played for theNetherlands national baseball team if theWorld Baseball Classic existed during his career.[33] Along with his former Twins teammate, theUtrecht-bornBert Blyleven, they were known for saying, "If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much."[34]
During the offseason, Kaat resides inStuart, Florida.[35]
Kaat was inducted into theMinnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2001.[28]
He had his number 36 retired by the Twins on July 16, 2022.[36]
In 2014, Kaat appeared for the second time as a candidate on theNational Baseball Hall of Fame'sGolden Era Committee election ballot[37] for possible Hall of Fame consideration for 2015, which required 12 votes. He missed getting inducted by two votes.[38] He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021,[39] and was formally enshrined on July 24, 2022.[40]
Kaat has earnednumerous broadcasting awards in a career that began in the 1960s and spanned until 2022, serving as a sportscaster from the 1980s on.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secondary color commentator, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1990–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secondary color commentator, Major League Baseball on ABC 1995 | Succeeded by Last |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
