Jim Kaat’s Longevity A Plus

Often when candidates are considered for selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame it is pointed out that the guy’s career just might not have been long enough. Peculiarly, when pitcher Jim Kaat’s name comes up I hear people criticize his win total of 283 games based on the argument that he played so long that he should have won that many.

I find that to be an irritating perspective. It should be a bonus that the left-hander was good enough and could stay health enough to remain in the majors for 25 seasons. If it is so easy how come more players don’t do it? It’s not as if we commonly hear about players who retire and say they would keep on playing for years more, but just don’t feel like it.

You’ve got Jim Kaat throwing until he was just about eligible for a pension. And you’ve got Nolan Ryan doing the same. And how many others? (Welcome board Jamie Moyer.) This is a pretty small club. So don’t tell me Kaat should not be chosen for the Hall of Fame because he played too long. The debating points should center on other matters.  Kaat was really good for a long time, but was he great for long enough?

Taken by his lonesome and examined in a vaccuum, Kaat’s credentials would be good enough for Cooperstown selection when the Golden Era Veterans Committee mets Dec. 5 for this year’s vote. But he will be going up against a very strong fiel, so he might not be able to garner 75 percent of the ballots. Of those in the Hall of Fame, to me Kaat’s pitching record compares most closely to that of Don Sutton. Except that Sutton had 41 more wins.

Born in Michigan in 1938, Kaat finished 283-237 while pitching from 1959 to 1983 with five Major League organizations, though foremost among them the old Washington Senators coupled with the Minnesota Twins. Kaat’s earned run average was 3.45 and he struck out 2,461 batters. A three-time All-Star who won a World Series in 1982 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kaat is one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time. He won 16 Gold Glove awards.

Kaat, whose nickname was “Kitty,” for the obvious reason of how he pronounced his last name, won 20 or more games three times. Throwing for the Twins in the 1965 World Series, Kaat started three games, all against the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax. Kaat won one of them. Kaat’s best year was 1966 when he won 25 and was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. That was the last year when the majors had a single Cy Young Award instead of rewarding one pitcher in the American League and one in the National League.  Koufax captured the award that year.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound southpaw has pretty much spent his entire life in baseball and wrote a book about his experiences called “Still Pitching.” Kaat’s good health was a boon to his longevity on the mound. Ryan has the record for most years pitching with 27.  Tommy John is next with 26, although he wasn’t always healthy. Kaat is third on that list. Kaat and Ryan are the answer to cute trivia question. What pitcher played in the majors during the most presidential administrations? They each were around for at least part of seven presidential reigns, Kaat’s under Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

After retiring from the mound Kaat was a pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds, and then spent 22 years as a full-time broadcaster. He took a few-year break and then returned to the booth. Kaat is just about as good of a talker as he was a pitcher, winning seven New York Emmys. It will take quite a bit of talking by someone lobbying on Kaat’s behalf behind the closed doors of the committee meeting, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Kaat is chosen for the Hall.