October is an exciting time of year for baseball fans and I am a fan as well as a former player and now, a member of MLB Network's announcing team. So I thought I would revive Kaat's Korner and blog some of my thoughts. I started Kaat's Korner in the late '80s as a pregame segment on the Minnesota Twins Cable Network when I was announcing their games. I also did some blogging for YES while a member of the Yankees' announcing team. Of course, the original K-Korner will and always should be credited to my friend Ralph Kiner, who had his show called "Kiner's Korner" since the early 1960s on Mets telecasts. That title itself was based on his old "Kiner's Korner" section of home run seats in left field at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field in the 1940s, replacing Hank Greenberg's "Greenberg's Gardens" there.

Those slugging roots notwithstanding, I am going to start with my favorite topic: pitching. The real "money" ball players, as I have often good-naturedly chided "Moneyball" central figure Billy Beane, are pitchers. No disrepect to the likes of Ryan Braun and Albert Pujols, but it is still about which team pitches best usually wins. Oakland had Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder as their starters when "Moneyball" became a term that some experts glommed onto as the reason for a team's success. They were hard to find in the movie. I guess Yogi Berra and Kirby Puckett could not have played for a team that operated on the "Moneyball" theory. They seldom walked or struck out or took a lot of pitches!

OK, back to pitching. I think the classic duel between Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay in Game 5 of the National League Division Series should be required watching for every pitcher -- amateur, Minor or Major Leaguer. Watch the videos on MLB.com and study how <b><a href="Carpenterhttp://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_10_07_slnmlb_phimlb_1&mode=video">Carpenter</a></b> and <b><a href="Halladayhttp://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_10_07_slnmlb_phimlb_1&mode=video#/play?content_id=19861697">Halladay</a></b> went about their business. Pay attention to the pace with which they worked, the methodical, rhythmic, consistent time between pitches. There was not much hesitation. They never seemed to have any doubt about what they wanted to do with the next pitch. They pitched like the hitter was just someone standing in their way. They seemed to say: "I challenge you to hit this pitch, I'm not afraid you're going to hit it." They had no apparent fear of contact and pitched their pitches with conviction. I refuse to say "threw their pitches" because these two are not "brain-dead heavers." That's a term pitchers in the past 10 to 15 years have coined for those who are infatuated with how fast their fastballs are clocked. They are throwers, not pitchers. Justin Verlander was a thrower as were most of us in our early days in the Majors, but he has become a "pitcher." Look at the results this year.

Listen carefully to what Carpenter said after the game when asked how he produced so many groundball outs in a ballpark that rewards flyballs. He made it sound so simple and other pitchers should take note: "Yeah, keeping the ball down in the strike zone, sinking the ball down with my fastball, keeping my breaking ball down, staying ahead in the count. And when you do that, you get those guys who obviously are a fabulous hitting ballclub, you get them in swing mode. If you're aggressive and they know that, if they don't swing, you're going to be 1-2, 0-2, whatever it is early in the count or behind in the count, they're going to start swinging and that's when you can start expanding the strike zone and getting the ball down and getting them to swing at stuff you want them to swing at and producing good results."

Those Game 5 results took me back to the World Series games between the Yankees and Braves in the 1950s when Lew Burdette, Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford and Bob Turley were hooking up in similar pitching duels. I didn't miss a pitch. That was pitching at its highest level, like Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. I smiled as I read comments about how some players on other teams do not like Carpenter. He seems to be mean or brusque or unfriendly. Good on ya', Chris. That's the way it should be! Not many liked Gibson, either. I wish more hitters would have hated me. My problem was the opposite. They sent a limo for me on the day I pitched so I'd get to the park safely and they could run up to the plate and swing. I wish I'd have known Chris Carpenter back then.

For me, other pitchers this postseason who are enjoyable to watch, whether they won or not, have been Cliff Lee, Ian Kennedy, Yovani Gallardo, most of the Texas staff. They give you the impression they are in control of the game and are going to dictate the pace. I wish there were more of them. I announced some Red Sox games in September and, living in Vermont in the summer, I watched a lot of them as well. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett are high-quality pitchers, but -- and I mentioned this to my friend Terry Francona on more than one occasion -- they began to pitch like they were stuck in quicksand in September. No energy, no pace. They appeared to have scouting-reportitis. That's a disease pitchers suffer when they have studied hitters' weaknesses to the point where they do not "trust their stuff" and worry about the hitter making contact.

I look forward to seeing more performances like I saw from Chris and Roy. There are too few of them these days.

Hey everyone, it's been a busy summer for me so far. I got married and my wife Margie and I have gone on a road tour through middle America. It's been quite interesting. We went through a lot of small towns. I've coached pitchers in Hannibal, Missouri; I've spoken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; I've appeared at the Bob Feller museum; I did the Futures Game on XM radio in St. Louis, and then I had a very unusual experience which I don't know how many Yankee or YES fans are aware of, but I filled in for Jerry Remy doing Red Sox games on NESN last weekend in Toronto.

What's kind of interesting is that each side, of course, calls the other side "The Dark Side" and I got some really nice feedback from Yankees fans who live in New England that had heard the games and were perfectly OK with me filling in for Jerry.

I was the 23rd different partner that Don Orsillo has had. It was kind of fun. I'm good friends with Terry Francona and a lot of the Red Sox people, so even though there's a deep-seeded hatred between the fans, it's hard for me to share that hatred because I know some of the people there and they're good people. A lot of the Red Sox feel the same towards the Yankees as individuals.

That was kind of an unusual experience and now my tour through middle America is coming to an end, where I'll be anchored in one place, and actually my next two assignments with MLB are Yankees games. I'll be doing the White Sox-Yankees next Thursday here in Chicago, and in two weeks I'll do the Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium.

I had made a lot of these commitments this summer that I wanted to honor. We've been on kind of a whirlwind trip, and for example I had promised Roland Hemond, who was my general manager on the White Sox when I played for them, that I would go to Hannibal and take a look at the college pitchers there in what's called "the prospect league," a summer wood-bat league. I also agreed to appear in a school in Sioux Falls just to speak and sign autographs, and then went to the Feller museum. I'm going from here up to my hometown in Michigan where they have a little league ballpark named for me. I started a fund to erect lights there in my late wife MaryAnn's name, to whom I'm dedicating a plaque next Monday. Then my commitments are kind of over and I will get back to I guess what we call our normal lifestyle.

Through all of my travels I've been specifically following both the Yankees and Red Sox. It's kind of interesting how they've kind of gone in different directions. Even though the Yankees have yet to beat the Red Sox in a regular-season game (0-8), they've got a two-and-a half game lead in the AL East. The Red Sox have many concerns. They have a couple of their pitchers, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield, on the DL. They called up Clay Buchholz, and he had one good start and then he didn't do well in his last start. Their bullpen has had a couple of hiccups since they were so effective early in the year.

Then you compare that to the Yankees, who just seem like they were sputtering along and then all of a sudden they have gelled. It looks like Phil Hughes has been slotted in to the eighth-inning role nicely. The Yankees offense has picked up. Their starters have been consistent, so right now, despite their winless record against their rivals, they have the upper hand, looking at the last 60-65 games of the year.

The percentages say that they're probably going to win at least half of these upcoming games, especially when you consider the fact that right now the Red Sox are in a little bit of disarray. There's only two weeks to go before the big Yankees-Red Sox series and things can change a lot until then, but the Red Sox have not hit well consistently. That's the difference between the 2008 and 2009 Red Sox. Guys like Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis had many big hits last season. This season a major problem has been not hitting in the clutch and they readily admit that themselves.

This division is going to be a race till the end. This could be an AL East that has three teams with 90-plus wins. The Rays are still in this race. I think it's by far the best division and the AL is the strongest league. If you took the Angels, who are a good solid team and out them in the AL East playing those East teams on a regular basis, I don't know if their record would be that good. I think if you took the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays and put them in the Central or the West, they would be pretty hard to beat them. Anyone of those three would end up winning that division. I know the Yankees have struggled against the Angels, but again, if the Angels had to play Tampa, New York and Boston on a consistent basis it might be a different story.

Let's focus in on the Yankees now and last year. At this time we were blogging about the flaws that the Yankees had and subsequently they didn't make the playoffs. This team is deep now and I think you start with CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. With those two guys at the top of the rotation the team is much better right there. Also, having Andy Pettitte around helps. He hasn't had the greatest year, but still has that experience where he can crank up a good game or two for them at the right time. It looks like they have the bullpen organized now with Hughes into that eighth-inning role, along with Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves.

From an offensive standpoint, Nick Swisher's added a lot of energy and has done a lot of good things for them, like what Mark Teixeira has done to the middle of the order. Last year psychologically they were almost in a state of shock to think that they might not make the playoffs and they didn't, whereas this year there's some added motivation. I don't think they're taking anything for granted, nor has anybody else taken for granted that the Yankees will be in the playoffs, but I think because of the reasons I just mentioned, they will be playing baseball in October.

I'm sure 'mature' baseball fans have heard of Bob Feller while younger fans that are strictly Yankee fanatics and follow every step of Derek Jeter's career may not identify with that name.  Growing up in the midwest in the 40's and 50's, I knew all about Bob 'Rapid Robert' Feller. He was a schoolboy sensation who had an overpowering fastball and electric curveball, and at 17, he was a starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in the late 30's. Look up his record sometime. All the complete games, no hitters and one hitters.  Feller won 266 games and likely would have won well over 300 but for the time he served our country when, in the prime of his career, he forfeited to enlist in the Navy.  Bob Feller is a  salty, no nonsense guy, who really is an American hero.

Now, at age 90, Feller owns and operates the Bob Feller Museum , a baseball museum in his hometown of Van Meter, Iowa,  just west of Des Moines. It's an American treasure. Built in 1995, it has all his baseball memorabilia and artifacts from his years in the Navy. Many Hall of Famers and baseball stars have appeared there to do autograph signings. Harmon Killebrew will sign autographs in late August and Dale Murphy, the 2 time MVP in the '80's for Atlanta, will appear in mid-September. The museum attracts members from all over the country who drive many miles to attend special events.

I made my first appearance at the museum yesterday. It was as smooth and enjoyable a signing session as I've ever done thanks to Mike Maguire, a gentleman who represents many former players in arranging autograph signings around the country, and Scott Harvick, a local man who, like many others in the Des Moines area, volunteers his time to make this museum run smoothly.  Baseball fans from Minnesota came for the signing—and one man drove all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma! The fans were knowledgeable, polite, and the kind of people one enjoys being around for over two hours. I had a good time telling stories as they passed through the line and posed for pictures.

For fans and collectors who cannot make it to the museum, items can be sent for signature in advance of the events. I was asked to sign 'inscriptions' about the number of hits allowed and the number of home runs given up. One that surprised me, and one that I have never been asked for, was signifying that I was the oldest pitcher to steal a base back in 1981....I was over 41 years old at the time!  Two years ago, Greg Maddux broke that record at 42 years, 89 days old.
If you are traveling in the Des Moines area, stop at the Bob Feller museum. It is easy to find and would be a nice experience for you and your family! (http://www.bobfellermuseum.org/)

Jim ‘Kitty’ Kaat

Great to turn on my Kindle this morning and read where Mariano Rivera got his 500th save. And no disrespect for Trevor Hoffman because 500 saves is a great accomplishment for anyone regardless of their team's position in the standings but to get 500 saves as a New York Yankee in the fire of a pennant race every year and every game and add the extra load of all the post season saves makes "MO" stand out as the greatest closer of all time. I remember when that talk started several years ago when he hadn't reached 300 saves yet and I said, "Let's wait and let him achieve what he's going to achieve and then crown him". Now, he's achieved it!

I remember when MO started a game against the White Sox in his first full season, I saw White Sox catcher, Ron Karkovice, in the stadium tunnel after the game and asked what he thought since Mo had pitched a strong game and recorded a lot of strikeouts. He remarked how the White Sox scouting report said he was a sinker/slider pitcher!! All Mo threw was high fastballs! He didn't have the reputation of throwing that filthy mid 90 mph cutter yet!

To accomplish what he has with almost exclusively one pitch, the pitch we have come to know as a cutter..even though it really is what I always called a pure slider, and throw it at one speed in one location makes what he's done even more remarkable. High and tight to left handed batters, in on their belt buckle, breaking bat after bat of even the best hitters. It's the reason right handed batters had more success against him because that pitch was always moving toward the sweet spot of their bat not into the handle like the leftys. Over time he added a '2 seamer' which broke the opposite way and an occasional change up but it was the cutter that he will always be known for. He even learned how to 'back door' it against leftys, making it cut across the outside corner of the plate and 'front door' it to rightys, cutting at the last instant across the inside edge of the plate which is a dangerous pitch to throw. Miss by a couple inches over the plate and it's a fairly easy pitch for big league hitters to hit.
 
I am very grateful that I was in the YES boooth for most of his accomplishments, like I was for Derek's. It was quite an honor to see him achieve greatness as his legacy grew and grew each year. Congratulations MO! I was just in Cooperstown and I saw a blank space on the wall for another plaque. You'll have one there 5 years after you call it a career. Well Done.

 

Interleague play needs a hiatus!

Ah yes, it’s subway series time! The Yankees highly touted starting pitchers and the Mets lineup being riddled by a variety of injuries has made it a pretty easy time for the Yankees.

I really think ‘interleague play’ has reached a point where it would be good to call a hiatus. The whole concept behind it was to give fans a chance to watch players from the other league that they seldom see play. That was the case in my day when American League fans never got to see Hank Aaron, Willie Mays or Ernie Banks. National League fans seldom saw Mickey Mantle—they had to wait until October! Now, with all the games on television, that’s not the case anymore.

As for the players, it has become a rather unenjoyable experience. Interleague play tends to allow better teams a chance to beat up on weaker rivals from the other league and distorts the real pennant races. I wish they’d drop it for a while and have teams play more games within their own division.

There are a few exciting matchups this season, but not many. The Yankees and Mets are at the top of the series list but it has lost a lot of luster since the first interleague game in the 90’s when Paul O’Neill got a big hit off Johnny Franco to help the Yankees win against the Mets. It’s just not the same anymore.

Honeymooning at the Hall

Most brides would say, “What, we’re going to Cooperstown on our honeymoon instead of Paris?!” Well, my new bride Margie found out it is a great place to honeymoon. The Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, NY, is a magnificent setting and a serene, romantic spot to relax. The famous wrap-around porch and big rocking chairs overlook Otsego Lake once coined by James Fenimore Cooper as ‘glimmerglass’.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a few blocks away in a beautiful village where it appears every homeowner takes pride in maintaining their grounds and many of the storefronts have flower boxes. And what makes Cooperstown particularly special are the baseball fans that make the pilgrimage to the Hall of Fame—they seem to be the purest and truest in the land.

Our honeymoon in Cooperstown coincided with Father’s Day and participation in the first Hall of Fame Classic. The game this year involved former players rather than the traditional game with current teams. My first Hall of Fame game was back in 1966 with the Minnesota Twins playing the St. Louis Cardinals. I vividly remember the Cardinals brought a slender, tall, left-handed pitcher from their AAA team named Steve ‘Lefty’ Carlton. The day he pitched, Ted Williams and Casey Stengel were inducted into the Hall. I was privileged to be at Lefty’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony 28 years later in 1994.  The Baseball Hall of Fame is arguably the most exclusive fraternity in the world.

Along with Kevin Maas and his son, Christian, we took a behind the scenes tour led by Hall of Fame curator, Tom Schieber. It was a thrill to hold Lou Gehrig’s and Babe Ruth’s bat in my hands. We saw old box scores from the 1800’s, many interesting baseball artifacts, and even autograph forgeries. There are millions of dollars generated by this practice and it is under constant investigation---a good reason why players are skeptical and, often times, hesitant to sign items they believe might wind up in the wrong hands.

The game on Father’s Day was very special. Bob Feller (age 90!) threw a few pitches to Paul Molitor, another Hall of Famer and to Jeff Kent. Kent and Steve Finley, who has only been out of the game for a year, look like they could still play in the major leagues. I played left field for an inning then pitched an inning, facing Kent, Steve Lyons and George Foster. I batted against friend, and Hall of Famer, Fergie Jenkins, and grounded out to first.  Luckily, I didn’t get hurt nor did any of the fielders behind me which made it a good day!

Having been to Cooperstown at least 10 times since 1966, this was by far the coolest experience. It made us all very grateful and proud to be former big leaguers. It is always heartwarming to see how much fans appreciate the game.

Here is a recent question from a fan:Q:  “Is Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays the best pitcher on the planet?” 
A: He is for my money! For those of you that don’t know the story, Roy was sent back to the minor leagues several years ago but with the help of Mel Queen, his pitching coach, he found his way back to the majors. Halladay discovered that by changing his arm angle, he became more effective.

Use it but don't abuse it was my philosophy with throwing. I can say without hesitation that I probably threw more and with greater variety than any pitcher considering I pitched for the 3rd most seasons in the history of the game. Nolan Ryan went 27 seasons and didn't pitch in relief and Tommy John went 26 seasons as a starter his entire career. Bragging? No! Just pointing out that I had a good data base of throwing and how the pitching angles affected my arm.  I learned over time what was beneficial and what wasn't.
I continue to impress upon pitchers that the way to find your natural way of pitching or proper arm angle with a consistent release is to 'play catch' or 'field a ground ball and throw to first base' as often as you can.  This practice develops good foot work and helps the player find his personal arm angle and natural path.

Because I pitched some of each, here’s the difference in training: Starters warm up slowly over a 15-20 minute period and relievers need to learn to warm up a little faster. The way to do that is to throw a little every day and then you'll be able to be 'game ready' in 10-15 pitches.

Trying to 'create' a perfect motion as opposed to allowing your arm to find it’s natural path can cause injury and not allow you to throw as free and easy---and as a result, more accurately. Again, the route to a better pitching arm angle is relatively simple….. field the ball, hop, step and throw!

I had an interesting Memorial Day weekend and watched a lot of Little League baseball. My grandson, Brendan, and his Ridgewood Rebels were playing in the Bergen County Charity Classic. Several teams from Bergen County play an elimination tournament and unfortunately Brendan's team did not advance to the playoff round but it gave me a chance to see him and his teammates play 3 games.

There were a lot of things that impressed me about being around the Little Leaguers and some things that caused me to reflect on my youth baseball days growing up in Zeeland, Michigan before organized little league was born. I think Joey Jay, who went on to be a successful pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves and Cincinnati Reds in the 50's and early 60's, was the first Little Leaguer to become a big leaguer. Not 100% sure but I do recall he got some publicity for that.
 
One thing that impressed me in a positive way was the interest the kids had in the current major leaguers. So much has been written and spoken about kids in our country not being interested in baseball. Recently, the Yankees staged another of their last inning comeback wins and the Red Sox lost in the last inning to the Mets. The buzz around the dugout went like this, "Did the Yankees win or lose?....They won, Melky got a walk off single! And the Red Sox lost, we're tied with them now!"  It was reassuring to know that kids today still live, eat and breathe baseball.

As they took infield and outfield practice before the game, they were diligent about hitting the cutoff man and throwing to the right base as the coach hollered out the instructions, "Cut 3, Cut 2, Cut home". I was struck by how good their form was in making the throws and catches and whipping the ball around the diamond. I don't recall being able to do that as well when I was their age. Of course, we had no games on TV where we could see our favorite players perform and emulate them. We just did what seemed natural. When they came to bat a lot of them looked like little Derek Jeters, extending their right arm toward the home plate umpire to ask him to wait until they were ready to hit. Yes, we do mimic our heroes. When I was Brendan's age I mimicked Bobby Shantz, a little lefty pitcher in the 50's by listening to radio announcers describe his motion. That was the only formal training I had as a kid!

The quality of Little League play was very good but the kids were at the mercy of the condition of the field. Because of the dryness it was hard and they had to deal with a lot of irregular hops and, as a result, there were a lot of errors. This solidified my thinking about the important things that determine which team wins or loses. If you never made an error, hit every cutoff man, always threw to the proper base, never issued a walk unintentionally, and always drove the runner in from 3rd base with less than 2 outs, your team would win most of the games. Contrary to what baseball players think is important, winning is not about who has the highest batting average, hits the most homeruns , or a pitcher that strikes out the most batters. It's the simple fundamentals about not making mistakes and doing the ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
 
I believe the one thing that caused me to realize how fortunate I was during my youth was the solitude in which I was able to play and make mistakes.  Even though my form was not as good as the current youth, I wasn't as big or strong as some of the other kids, and didn't have an equipment bag with all the latest gear and a metal bat; I still managed to excel in baseball.  No coaches hollering or calling me aside to remind me of things to do that I probably wasn't capable of doing anyway, no parents yelling, "Oh Jimmy, why did you swing at that pitch?"  We just got 6 or 8 kids and played for hours. We didn't keep batting averages, no scoreboards or organized games and no uniforms-- just good fun with our playmates.  And you know what?? I think we turned out okay. I believe kids from my era were more mature, grounded, and self taught. We didn't have to look for a coach or parent to tell us what to do, because right or wrong, we figured it out ourselves. Maybe kids today need to spend a little more time on their own figuring out the game, their swing and the simple fundamentals. I don't know which way is best, there is good and not as good in each era. But, one thing is for sure, I'm glad I was a kid in the 40's and 50's.

It was an uplifting day today in spite of all the negative news that seems to dominate the headlines today pertaining to baseball, the game we all love and owe so much to for bringing us a lot of joy and enabling many to earn a nice living. I received two of the most heartwarming and yet heart wrenching emails; stories that brought memories back from 25-40 years ago about youngsters who were touched by the charm of the game.

Here is an excerpt from one of them: 
“….I wasn't into baseball very much at 6 yrs old when I met you.  But, after spending time at your farm and my dad spending that very brief time with you, I just fell in love with the game. That is only the beginning, however.  When I was 12 yrs old, I was diagnosed with leukemia and not given much of a chance to make it. The treatments were painful and intense, as you might imagine.  But, I believe along with the help of God and my family, baseball was instrumental in beating the cancer. Every day I sat in that hospital just waiting for the treatments to end so I could get outside and play on my little league team and then later on, my high school team.  So, Jim, thank you for being so kind to my dad and to me as well.  I don't know what I would have done without baseball to focus on while I was fighting through that time in my life.” Chuck from Leola, PA

If you have a chance, please go to my website, JimKaat.com, and click on Fan Letters to read these wonderful letters written by real baseball fans. Wow!  They are stories that brought tears to my eyes because I remember both events like they happened yesterday. I hope today’s players never lose sight of the fact that the fans and their love of baseball keeps the game alive.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of those who have written me over the past 40 years. The letters I’ve received are inspirational, touching, and chicken soup for the soul. For those who I’ve been blessed to meet at the stadiums, on the street, and during scheduled appearances, it was an honor to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to visit with me.

Speaking of appearances, I'm getting ready to launch my 'summer tour' next week.  If I’m coming to your town (I’m covering a lot of ground this summer!) and you have the time, come out and say hello! My summer schedule can be found here:  Jim’s Schedule. To start my journey, I plan to watch my 11 year old grandson, Brendan, play a couple games in Ridgewood, NJ, and then head to New England to announce the NY Yankees v. Boston Red Sox game on June 11th at Fenway Park.  It’s always an exciting opportunity to cover those games; it’s 4-5 hours of trauma and drama for the players and managers,  and usually a roller coaster ride for the fans as well! 

 Shortly after that, I'm heading to Cooperstown, NY, to participate in the National Baseball Hall of Fame game on Father's Day, June 21. The game was originally played between current major league teams but this year it will be played by former star players. Even Bob Feller, at age 90, is hoping to throw a few pitches-- I can't wait to see that! 

Then I'll head to Fargo, ND, to play in the Roger Maris Celebrity Golf Tournament . Billy Crystal will be there to show the film he did, '61', about the great battle for the home run record between Roger and Mickey Mantle.  Then I’m off to sign autographs at the Bob Feller Museum in Bob's hometown of Van Meter, Iowa.  In early July, I’m heading to Hannibal, Missouri, to work with the pitchers on the Hannibal Cavemen baseball team and attend the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame induction ceremonies; Brad Radke, one of the Twins stalwart pitchers for many years will be inducted along with George Brophy, a friend and baseball executive who was a part of the Twins player development department that produced a lot of good major leaguers.  Then I’m off to the MLB’s All Star game in St. Louis on July 14th.

Some of you may know, I started a memorial fund in memory of my late wife, MaryAnn Kaat, after she succumbed to cancer last year. The funds were used to erect lights at the Jim Kaat Baseball Park in Zeeland, Michigan. We are proud to announce that the lights are up and the first game under them was last week! In honor of MaryAnn, I will unveil and erect a plaque with her name on it at the baseball park when I am there in late July for the Jim Kaat Invitational Little League Tournament. Whew! I'm getting tired just thinking about all the miles I'll be logging in my new Roadtrek RV!
In August, I will attend the Philadelphia Phillies Alumni Weekend from August 7 – 10th, and on the 22nd , deliver a speech at the Jockey Club Chairmen's Dinner in Saratoga during racing week. As an avid horse fan, this is one of my favorite summer stops.  

October 18 - 19, I will finally get back to my home in Florida and on the golf course to play in the 14th Annual Tim Mara Celebrity Golf Classic at the PGA National Resort & Spa, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to benefit The Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope.

As you can see, semi-retirement is keeping me active and I've enjoyed every minute of it ---I’m looking forward to an exciting summer and I’d love to see you on one of my many stops! Thanks for your continued interest and valued comments on my website and Kaat’s Korner blog.

I watched the Yankee-Red Sox game last night. It seems one has to drink a 50-gallon drum of Starbucks to hang with these games for 9 innings. A Red Sox vs.Yankees game today is like watching Ali & Frazier box a 15 round fight, painfully slow and lacking the drama you expect when they start.  I know all too well one of the reasons.

I distinctly remember a few entertaining conversations about pitching that I had on the veranda of the magnificent Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown with the late, great Warren Spahn and another Hall of Fame pitcher and friend, Robin Roberts. Comments they made to me years ago explain the length of today's games and the reason we get cheated out of what could be more exciting finishes and, likely, could save some teams money. ‘Spahnie’ would say, "Kid, when it's 2-2 in the 7th, the game is just starting." When I asked Robin, “How do you pitch to Willie Mays?” he would answer, “Tell me the inning, the score and the count.”

Watching Joba Chamberlain and Josh Beckett duel in last night's game reminded me of both of those comments. Chamberlain was dominant after the 3 run HR he gave up to Jason Bay. Beckett labored but was gritty and got big outs when he needed them. But, what fun it would have been if both of these power pitchers could have gone toe to toe in the 8th and 9th innings. Last night, they each threw 108 pitches in 6 innings or less, whereas, if pitching effectively, a 9 inning complete game should take about 115 if you're throwing a high percentage of strikes. 

Here’s the catch (or the pitch!), someone needs to teach pitchers to pitch to the scoreboard and to the count. Early in the game, pitchers tend to be afraid of the bat and hitters making contact. Why? It has always been my strategy to gamble early in the play and early in the game. I wanted to try to knock out every hitter in 3 or less pitches and/or try to make him get hits on all of them.  The great Sandy Koufax, a good friend of mine, said he was the most successful pitcher because he tried to get hitters to hit the ball, not miss the ball. Let’s face it, the best hitters get 3 hits out of 10 at bats. I remember times when I used to tell the catcher to call just fastball after fastball and get as many out as possible in the early innings. Then when it came down to the last few innings, I could use my other weapons more effectively. Curveballs, sliders, and everything else I had in my arsenal. That was when it really counted.

Pitchers today should be less cautious early on and try to throw as many strikes as possible to avoid long counts and keep hitters from seeing and deciphering too many pitches. When it's tied in the 7th and the pitcher has not been more economical and the pitch count stands at108 pitches, managers are forced to take him out. However, if it’s the 6th inning and he’s only thrown 75 pitches, he’s got enough to finish the game.

Here’s an example: Let's say a pitcher gives up a solo HR to David Ortiz on the 2nd pitch thrown, a fastball right down Broadway. The pitcher is behind now 1-0. Then Ortiz comes up in a tie game in the 7th and you've only thrown him 6 or 7 pitches in his 2 previous at bats. Now, you're still fresh enough to stay in the game and you can go to your other pitches that you haven't shown him yet and 'work him' differently than you did in the previous at bats.

Pitching is tougher these days. With smaller stadiums, a smaller strike zone, a tighter wound ball, and lighter, laminated, harder bats, there is little opportunity to keep hitters from diving into the ball without a fight, a warning or an ejection.  And hitters are bigger and stronger than ever. Watch some of the World Series highlights on the MLB channel and check out the size difference in the players then and now. But, even with that said, sooner or later you have to throw it over the plate.

There's plenty of data out there to support throwing aggressively early on.   If the hitter is behind in the count 0-1, 1-2, 0-2, he likely hits under .200. If it's 1-0, 2-0, 3-1, he's usually over .300. Today’s pitchers need to challenge hitters early in the game and trust their stuff and maybe they'll pop a few up or hit them at one of the fielders.  Only then will the pitcher be around to enjoy the thrill of trying to get hitters out with the game on the line in the 8th or 9th---and, as an added bonus, teams won't have to carry 12 pitchers on a staff and use 4-5 pitchers a game. 

It costs a lot of money to win a game today. Pitching costs alone can run a staggering $10-15 million for the ‘starter’, a couple million bucks for the ‘set-up’ pitcher to then get to the big money ‘closer’. I was pleasantly surprised when Pat Ruesse, a columnist from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, wrote a recent column pointing out that the 1967 Minnesota Twins staff, of which I was a member, had 8 pitchers pitch all but 34 innings during that season. We missed winning the pennant by only one game. It can be done today. Pitchers are bigger, stronger and, quite frankly, have better technique than we had in days past. They just need to be taught to pay attention to the scoreboard and pitch to the inning, the score, and the count.

It piqued my curiosity after reading that Andrew Miller, the young talented pitcher with the Florida Marlins, was placed on the disabled list with an oblique strain. For those of you not familiar with the oblique muscles, they are located in the abdominal region and they are important to rotating your trunk when hitting a ball, (baseball, golf, and tennis) and pitching.
 
I'm a curious person. Johnny Sain, my favorite pitching coach, told me in 1965 when I was 26 years old that I would pitch for a long time because I was curious about what it took to continue to improve and improvise. He was prophetic. I pitched into my mid 40's, and thus, my curiosity with Andrew Miller's injury.

I was fortunate to have trained with the first strength and flexibility coach in major league baseball, Gus Hoefling. After an exercise session with Rudy Carpenter, owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, Gus was hired to work with us at our home games and eventually became a full time coach and gained a lot of acclaim for working with Hall of Fame pitcher, Steve ‘Lefty’ Carlton. Without a doubt, Gus added 7 years to my career with his knowledge and his regimen. I give you this background on Gus because I'm curious about what major leaguers are doing to exercise and work the proper muscles in an intelligent manner.

Recently, I began working with a personal trainer, Jennifer Trevino, three days per week. One day we work on the lower body, one day upper body, and one day a combination. We always do a number of abdominal exercises to include the obliques. I didn’t realize there were a wide variety of ways to work the abs!

As a result, I wondered if baseball players could prevent the large number of seemingly unusual injuries to body parts we know so little about by training smarter. It seems all the baseball players work on is pumping up in an attempt to become bigger and stronger. What about flexibility and longevity? With all the injuries to young ball players and pitchers, maybe coaches need trainers to focus on strengthening and developing the right muscles for a particular activity. Pitching requires a delicate blend of strength AND flexibility. It seems there should be different stretches and strength training for pitchers versus catchers, and so on.

As an aside from training, I am constantly asked what pitchers can do to pitch better and, my constant suggestion to all pitchers, from little league to the majors, is to THROW THE BALL MORE!

Thanks to good genes and a top personal trainer, I’m still active, flexible, and in decent shape at 70. Even after 22 years in professional baseball, I have no strains, pulled muscles, aches or pains.  It saddens me that a pitcher with Andrew Miller's talent and potential gets sidelined with an oblique strain. I’m not being critical of the current major league baseball training programs, I’m simply curious. Could we or should we be training differently?