Baseball lifer Kaat joins Minnesota legends

MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim Kaat has been involved in Major League Baseball for parts of eight decades -- and now, he'll be part of the Twins' organization for all of the decades left to come.

No member of the Minnesota Twins will ever wear No. 36 again, after the club formally retired Kaat's uniform number as part of a pregame ceremony before Saturday's contest against the White Sox, during which he received tributes from Twins legends and baseball greats alike in recognition of his lifetime commitment to the sport and his enduring place in its history.

"For more than sixty years, Jim Kaat has been an important part of the fabric of the Minnesota Twins organization," Twins owner Jim Pohlad said in a statement. "With Kitty's storied career on the field as well as his accolades in the broadcast booth and his contributions in the community in mind, the Twins family is proud to bestow our highest honor with the retirement of his jersey, number 36."

Now that Kaat is fully cemented in the history of the organization in which he spent the first 15 seasons of his 25-year big league career, he will soon take another step into the baseball history books when he is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend alongside longtime teammate Tony Oliva.

Though Kaat also played for the White Sox, Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals in the waning years of his career, the 83-year-old says he's always associated himself most with the Twins, with whom he was part of the '61 team that relocated from Washington to Minnesota.

"I reported to the clubhouse in instructional league on October 26, 1960, and I had 'Senators' across my chest," Kaat said. "And by the end of the day, it was 'Twins.' That was the day the Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins. And we thought, we as players, thought that it was a great move because we remembered what a positive move it was for the Braves to go from Boston to Milwaukee."

Kaat is in a unique place: In becoming the ninth and most recent Twins player to have his jersey number retired, Kaat has witnessed the careers and contributions of all eight who came before him, driving home the full significance of the honor.

Harmon Killebrew (No. 3) and Oliva (No. 6) were Kaat's teammates on the 1965 team that brought the organization its first World Series appearance. Rod Carew (No. 29) came along later in his Twins career. Kaat was a veteran in the Twins' clubhouse when a 19-year-old youngster named Bert Blyleven (No. 28) began what would become a Hall of Fame career. He was in the broadcast booth when Tom Kelly (No. 10), Kent Hrbek (No. 14) and Kirby Puckett (No. 34) brought the club its most recent championship.

Unlike the others on that list, Kaat never had many personal accolades. He never led the league in ERA, and didn't win a Cy Young Award or an MVP. He didn't win a World Series while with the Twins. He didn't finish out his career with one team, getting waived in 1973, as he tells it, "basically because they didn't think I could pitch anymore."

All that is why, despite being the club's all-time leader in wins (189), games started (422) and innings pitched (2,959 1/3), Kaat has maintained that he never expected enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, or any of the accolades that have come along with the honor.

"I'll never be considered one of the all-time greats; maybe not even one of the all-time goods," Kaat once said, a quote highlighted by the Twins to begin Saturday's ceremony. "But I'm one of the all-time survivors."

In fact, in his brief, two-minute speech during the ceremony, Kaat spent most of the time highlighting the accomplishments of those others who had come before -- as well as acknowledging that he might not even the most prominent Twin to have worn No. 36 in the eyes of some in the stands.

"If I'm able to stay alive for two more years, I'm going to be in Cooperstown to see the induction of Joe Nathan," Kaat said, gesturing to the club's all-time saves leader, who was also in attendance. "He also wore No. 36, and I know you younger fans probably relate more to him than to me, and I don't blame you. I hope someday that this other No. 36 gets his due recognition."

But this day -- and this next week -- was for Kaat, the baseball and Twins lifer in every sense, recognized for his longevity and dedication in playing, coaching and broadcasting at last.