(or, welcome back, mr. kaat-er)
i was watching mlb network in august, and jim kaat was calling a game. his broadcast partner (matt vasgersian?) congratulated him on beginning his 8th decade of work in major league baseball. that made me sit up and take notice.
kaat pitched in the big leagues in 1959, and his playing career didn't end until the 1980's. since then he's been a broadcaster covering games in each of the following decades including now, the 2020's (as long as you believe that the new decade starts with the zero year). kaat has shown up on some twins broadcasts over the last couple of seasons as bert blyleven's workload was reduced, and he was pleasant to listen to.
i was reminded that i did not have his 1978 topps card signed for my (partial) autographed set, and so i took some time in late august to rectify that.
i had only sent out a couple of ttm requests in 2020 up until that point, but i've checked sportscardforum from time to time and knew that kaat was still signing. i included a $5 donation, and was rewarded with a swift turnaround. kaat let me know how he planned to use the donation with this pre-printed card:
i remember the first time i saw kaat's 1978 card and being perplexed by the zipper. i had never seen a baseball uniform with a zipper. at any rate, i'm very happy to have added this card to my collection. thanks jim!
I think every card I've ever seen him on has featured that big smile of his. Beautiful signature.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a treat to hear him on MLB Network these days. I remember him from doing national TV games in the late '80s/early '90s. I actually knew him as a broadcaster before it clicked with me that he played for the Cardinals for a spell.
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