Zeeland native Jim Kaat was elected to the Michigan Baseball Hall on same weekend he was in Minnesota celebrating 60th anniversary of Twins pennant.
When Jim Kaat was honored by the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame, a group from his hometown of Zeeland was there to celebrate him - even if he wasn't there.
Kaat, a longtime Twins pitcher, was in Minnesota to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1965 pennant winning team.
Meanwhile, Zeeland Recreation Director Kelli Koss took the stage on Kaat's behalf in Lansing.
Both were important events for Kaat, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
"That was so heartwarming to have Kelli accept that for me. We worked very closely together on the activities at the Jim Kaat Ballpark. Then she brought like 40 people to with her," Kaat said. "That really means a lot to me (to have my hometown represent like that) because I don't get there too often and I don't live there anymore, but I hear all the stories about the ballpark and to have that many people join her in Lansing means a lot to me and says a lot about the spirit of the community of Zeeland."
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, Kaat, 86, and fellow Hall of Famer Tony Oliva joined 1965 teammates to bask in the memories of playing in the World Series six decades ago.
"There are probably about 11 full-time players who are still living and a lot of them can't travel anymore. Tony lives there and Jim Perry came in from North Carolina and Dick Stigman lives there," Kaat said. "They showed highlights from the World Series. We were honored and proud to be the team that really put the Twins on the baseball map. It is nice that they still remember us."
Kaat pitched head-to-head with the great Sandy Koufax, winning one and losing two, in the seven-game Dodgers victory. Kaat allowed just six earned runs in his three starts, but Koufax - arguably the greatest left-handed pitcher in history - was even better, allowing just one run in his three starts, pitching two complete-game shutouts.
Koufax and Kaat sat together in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame dinner at the annual induction ceremony last month and reminisced themselves about their showdowns as the group welcomed five Hall of Famers, including Kaat's friend and former teammate Dick Allen.
"They were all in awe. I was telling the younger guys like Derek Jeter about Sandy and he was just in awe. We started talking about Game 7. Sandy shut us out in Game 5 and came back to pitch Game 7 and struck out 10. He said he had nothing that game - and I was like, 'We still couldn't hit you.' We had a couple guys on in the fifth inning and Junior Gilliam made a great play to stop the rally (and that was it). He doesn't make that play and we tie it.
"It was great to talk with Sandy. I haven't sat down and talked to him like that (for that long) in 60 years. Sandy always tells me I am the one he can relate to (in the Hall) because the rest of them are just kids."
When the former Twins get together, there are plenty of memories from the World Series - especially the three wins in the series - but also have plenty of big memories from the season that led to the pennant.
"When we get together, we always talk about the home run Harmon (Killebrew) hit against Washington with two outs in the ninth, a 3-2 count. He hit the home run (to sweep the doubleheader). There was still that fear of the Yankees, but that game solidified our belief that we were going to win this thing."
Eventually, they did and Kaat was on the mound for the clinching game.
"My personal high was the complete game to clinch," he said. "I had a little shoulder injury that year and only completed seven of my 42 starts and it would tighten up after about six innings. To have a really dominant game in the clincher, I was really excited about that. I struck out my good buddy Don Zimmer to end the game. That was my best memory of that season."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Jim Kaat honored with 60th anniversary of 1965 Twins, Michigan Hall
Category: Baseball
