ST. LOUIS — After a 25-year career and nearly 40-year wait, Jim Kaat finally got his Cooperstown moment in 2022.
The Major League veteran with 283 career wins and 16 Gold Glove Awards was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday alongside David Ortiz, Tony Oliva and the late Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Minnie Minos and Buck O'Neil.
And while he had to wait a long time, Kaat was never bitter about it.
"I never had anger. The early days I was eligible, I was curious. Because my win total was similar to Fergie Jenkins and Robin Roberts. But I wasn't the dominant pitcher that they were. So I realized early on that even though I had dependability and longevity, and the win total was up there I was never really dominant like a Gibby (Bob Gibson)," Kaat told 5 On Your Side's Frank Cusumano.
And in some ways, the wait has made it mean even more for Kaat.
"It's a humbling honor, particularly at my age when I thought my time had passed, the Hall of Fame was kind of in my rearview mirror. So it's really maybe more special now than if I had gotten in shortly after my career ended, Kaat said.
Kaat had already had a long and successful career with the Twins, White Sox, Phillies and Yankees before he came to St. Louis in 1980. But under the watchful eye of Whitey Herzog, Kaat found some new life.
"He (Whitey) was such a great game manager. And what he did for me, was, I started some games in 1981, and I really had designs on continuing to start, and he said 'I want you to be my left specialis,'" Kaat said. "And he said, 'I'm gonna build my pitching staff from the ninth inning back.' So we had Bruce Sutter at the end, Doug Bair a hard-throwing righty, Jeff Lahti had a good starter and I was the lefty guy. And I really settled into that role and enjoyed it, of course, because we won the World Series that year. And the way Whitey could manage and maneuver a bullpen was a big part of it," Kaat said.
Kaat pitched for the Cardinals from 1980 to 1983, playing a key role in the bullpen for the 1982 World Series champions.
And as a pitcher, Kaat was the beneficiary of some tremendous defense behind him in St. Louis like Ozzie Smith and Keith Hernandez. And he knows it's the best defensive roster he'd ever been a part of in his 25 years in the game.
"Oh yeah, no question," Kaat said. "It was so enjoyable being a part of that team. Because I think we were the last really what I would call exciting team that played baseball the old-fashioned way. We had 67 home runs and 200 stolen bases."
And even though he pitched in 898 games in his career over four different decades, it never felt like work for Kaat.
"I felt like when my career ended in St. Louis. Even though I was disappointed when it ended, I thought it was the best 25-year paid vacation I could have hoped for," Kaat said.