Jim Kaat life and biography

James Lee "Jim" Kaat was born on November 7, 1938, in Zeeland, Michigan. His family was very methodical, punctual and well organized. They ate breakfast each morning at 7:30 sharp and lunch at noon on the button. Jim’s dad, John, was the town authority on anything having to do with sports. Zeeland was a big softball hotbed, and many disputes from around the country were settled by John, either by phone, in person, or by letter. He constantly preached the value of planning and preparation in everything Jim did, whether it was his chores, his schoolwork, or his pitching. Jim’s personality was a lot like his father’s. He thrived on structure. His only rebellion was sneaking away to play baseball on Sunday afternoons after church.

As a high schooler, Jim had terrific control and not much else. His aim was to work efficiently and make each hitter swing at his pitch. He stood just 5-4 as a freshman, and the team did not have a uniform small enough to fit him. On his first varsity pitch, his sleeve unrolled down his arm and over his hand. His coach walked to the mound withy a pair of scissors and cut the sleeve off at the elbow.

Jim had grown seven inches by the time he graduated in 1956 but weighed just 165 pounds. He enrolled at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. To earn money for tuition, he worked in a commercial laundry that summer. Jim picked up and delivered linens at summer resorts, lifting huge bundles and getting tons of exercise. When he showed up on the diamond the following spring, he stood 6-4 and weighed 180 pounds.

Jim now had a fastball in the 80s. Plus, he had not lost his little-guy quickness and agility—and never would. Don Zimmer once described Jim as a big man in a little man’s bod.

After a fine freshman season for Hope, Jim was courted by several big-league teams. The rule back then dictated that anyone who signed for more than $4,000 had to go directly to the majors. Jim and his dad discussed his options and decided that he should choose among the clubs interested in him based on opportunity. They also agreed he would take less than $4,000 so he could develop in the minors. Jim was signed to a minor-league contract by the Washington Senators in June of 1957, and was shipped right to Superior of the Nebraska State League. He went 5–6 in 14 games.

Jim delivered his pitches from behind his wiry frame and could make the ball bend and curve to any spot. His first pro manager, Ray Baker, told him that, with a decent fastball, he could be a successful big-league hurler. He lifted weights all winter and reported for spring training with bulging biceps and a cut upper body. The result was a rising fastball that helped produce 245 strikeouts in 223 innings for Missoula of the Pioneer League. His 2.99 ERA was tops in the circuit.

Jim was promoted to Chattanooga of the Southern League in 1959, and he showed enough to promise to merit a jump to the majors. Jim got the call that August and joined the Senators in Chicago. Washington was in the midst of an 18-game losing streak that would send them into the A.L. cellar. Manager Cookie Lavagetto sent Jim to the mound, where the 20-year-old gave up three runs in 2.2 innings and took the loss in a 9–3 defeat. While he was in Washington, he carried on a letter-writing romance with a girl named Julie, whom he had met and briefly dated in Chattanooga. They were married in October.

Jim appeared in 13 games for the Senators in 1960, going 1–5. He actually pitched most of the year for Charleston of the American Association.

During the '60 campaign with the Twins, Jim broke a finger while fielding a bunt. The injury kept him on the DL for several weeks. As Jim rehabbed, he discovered he could make the ball sink by lessening the pressure he applied with his damaged digit. Now he had a riser, a drop and a big curve—all of which he could throw for strikes. Of course, it took him a while to gain full control of this arsenal, and for several years he was among the league leaders in wild pitches and hit batsmen.

In 1961, the Senators moved to Bloomington and became the Minnesota Twins. Jim made 29 starts and won nine times, joining a rotation that included young guns Jack Kralick, Camilo Pascual, and Pedro Ramos. The Twins had the makings of a competitive club, but Lavagetto wasn't getting the job done in the dugout and was replaced by Sam Mele. It was a learning season for Jim, and he was fortunate to have one of baseball's best teachers, Eddie Lopat, who was serving one year as Minnesota’s pitching coach. One of the first changes they made was to have Jim stride right at hitters instead of throwing across his body. His control improved immediately.

That advice began paying dividends the following year, in 1962, when Jim went 18–14 with a 3.14 ERA and 173 strikeouts in a team-high 269 innings. The Twins kept the heat on the aging New York Yankees during the second half but fell short by five games with a 91–71 record. All eight position players reached double-figures in home runs, led by Harmon Killebrew’s 48 round-trippers. Jim made his first of three All-Star teams and won his first of 16 consecutive Gold Gloves. He also led the A.L. with five shutouts.

Jim had an off year in 1963, going 10–10, and the Twins finished third in the A.L. New pitching coach Gordon Maltzberger, insisting Jim needed a third pitch, force-fed him a slider, which made his arm hurt. That summer, during an exhibition stop in Milwaukee, Jim spent time with veteran Warren Spahn. They talked about the screwball, but mostly Spahn advised Jim to pitch off his toes instead of flat-footed. A torn back muscle in August ended his year and delayed the experiment.

The Twins dropped to sixth place in 1964, but Jim rebounded with a 17-win campaign. Again, he tinkered with a slider, and again it hurt his arm, so he dropped it altogether. Minnesota had plenty of offense in ’64—the Twins led all of baseball with 221 home runs. What the team lacked was a closer and good third and fourth starters. They solved these problems late in the summer by picking up reliever Al Worthington from the Cincinnati Reds and Mudcat Grant from the Cleveland Indians.

Jim Perry joined the rotation in 1965, and the Twins outdistanced the rest of the A.L. with 102 wins. Jim was on the mound when Minnesota clinched its first pennant.

Toiling under the watchful eye of new pitching coach Johnny Sain, Jim won 18 games in '65 and led the league with 42 starts. Sain taught him a modified slider—Jim actually called it a “slurve”—and he had his third pitch. He beat the Los Angeles Dodgers and Sandy Koufax in Game 2 of the World Series but lost Game 5 getting chased in the third inning. Jim and Koufax matched up again in Game 7, and the Dodgers won 2–0. The difference was a Lou Johnson homer in the fourth inning.

Jim had his best year in 1966, going 25–13 for the second-place Twins and pitching 19 complete games. At the time, only one Cy Young Award was given out, and Koufax walked away with the hardware. Jim took some consolation in being named Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1967, Jim went 16–13 and was a key man in the four-way struggle for supremacy in the A.L.

An aching arm limited Jim to 29 starts in 1968, but he still won 14 games with a sub-.300 ERA. In 1969, former teammate Billy Martin took the helm in Minnesota, and the Twins won the new West Division with a 97–65 record. Jim turned in another 14-win season, but did not appear in the first ALCS, as the Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles. Jim’s third straight 14-win season helped Minnesota win the division again in 1970, but again the club fell to the Orioles in the ALCS. Jim started Game 3 and got roughed up by the powerful Baltimore offense.

He continued to pitch effectively until he broke his wrist in 1972. The Twins were basically a .500 club, and Jim, now in his mid-30s, was the victim of a youth movement.

Jim turned in a remarkable season for the White Sox in 1974, winning 21 games for a .500 club. He worked so rapidly that season that opposing teams accused him of quick-pitching. Jim would receive the ball back from the catcher, toe the runner, and immediately go into his delivery. He was always a fast worker—his favorite line was that his fastball turned into a pumpkin after two hours—but this was fast even by Kaat standards.

Jim logged 263 innings in his marvelous '74 season, and then threw 304 in 1975, when he won 20 games again. The White Sox were headed nowhere, however, finishing fifth with a 75–86 record. Still, Jim's good work didn't go unnoticed. He finished fourth in the Cy Young balloting and also earned a few MVP votes, even though Chicago finished a distant fifth in the A.L. West.

Jim was traded after the '75 campaign, going to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for Dick Ruthven, Roy Thomas and Alan Bannister. At 36-years-old, Jim was throwing as well and going as deep in games as he ever had in his life.

Jim devoured innings as a fourth starter for the Phillies in 1976 and pitched well in his Game 3 start in the NLCS against the Big Red Machine. He started 27 games for Philadelphia the follwing year but won just six times. In 1978, he rebounded with an 8–5 mark as a spot starter, including one shutout.

Jim split 1979 between Philly and the Bronx, where he played for his old pal Billy Martin again. Jim spent the season in the bullpen, saving two games for the Yankees, who never recovered from the death of Thurman Munson. In 1980, Jim started the year with the Yankees and finished it with St. Louis, where he was pressed back into action as a starter. He twirled another shutout and also saved four games out of the pen for the Cards.

Now 41, Jim was not only a four-decade man—he was also the last active member of the old Senators. He settled into the St. Louis bullpen in 1981 and 1982, and was a key in the Cardinals’ run to the championship. He appeared in two of the club’s World Series victories and collected his first championship ring at the age of 43. He played his last season in 1983, making 24 appearances for the Cards. Jim’s final game was on July 1. His 25 seasons set a record for pitchers, and he was the last active player who performed in the 1950s.

Jim’s final season as a broadcaster was 2006, for the Yankees. He planned to say his farewell to the fans during a September 15th game between New York and Boston, but it was rained out. He was in the booth the next day for FOX, calling one inning and then saying goodbye.

Jim finished his pitching career 17 wins short of 300, with a 3.45 ERA. (He also recorded 18 saves.) He threw 4,530 innings, good for 26th on the all-time list, and 180 complete games, including 31 shutouts. Jim also set a mark for pitchers with 16 Gold Gloves, the same number compiled by future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux as he began the 2007 season.

Read more