Jim Lee Kaat, a.k.a. Kitty, is the record-holding MBL pitcher with 16 consecutive Golden Gloves wins, the highest ever by any player.
In addition, the Washington Senator's veteran baseball star has bagged three All-Star awards and was victorious in the 1982 World Series, making him one of the best left-handed pitchers that MLB has ever witnessed.
Career & Progression
Since his early days, Jim Kaat was a baseball fanatic and knew how to retire hitter without hitting hard. But, sadly, his height didn't match the caliber, which resulted in him getting denied an athletic scholarship.
As a result, he pursued his high school from a nearby college in Michigan, Hope College. However, things changed swiftly after Kaat's height elevated to a towering 6 feet and 4 inches, earning him a workout invitation from Washington Senators. The Senators got impressed by the young gun and offered him a $4000 signing bonus. At the same time, he got a $24,000 offer from White Sox, but his dad advised him to deny the more considerable sum in exchange for starting his career from a major roster, Senators.
Later in 1962, when Jim was representing Minnesota Twins, he played a significant role in the team’s emergence to the top. Kaat also won his first Golden Glove award in the following year as the writers voted him as the best pitcher of the American Leagues. Furthermore, Kaat proved that he was the best pitcher in all leagues after taking his Golden Glove streak to 16, the highest by any pitcher!
Finally, in 1983, after achieving various milestones and defeating many on-field competitors, the pitching legend Kaat announced his retirement. Later in 2001, the dominant pitcher was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall Of Fame.
However, the baseball legend’s personal life is far more twisted and opposite to his professional life.
Jim Kaat on his team jersey, on-field MBL (Source: The Philly Show)
Married Multiple Times?
The baseball star has the most unstable and tragic married life than most of the celebrities out there. Kaat has been married four times in his lifetime, among which two of them ended up with divorce, while his third wife passed away in 2008 after 22 years of married life.
Jim got tied in a marital knot for the first time in 1959 with his first wife, Julie Anne Moore but unfortunately got divorced after 17 years of their marriage. The stroke of hard luck followed as his second marriage with Linda Jankowski turned out in vain.
The duo got married on the same year of Kaat's divorce and parted ways after nearly a decade of being together. However, the baseballer's marriage quest does not end here as he got married a year after he divorced his second wife.
He married Marry Ann Montanaro in 1988, and the duo had four kids together. But, unfortunately, just when Kaat's marital vessel seemed to be on the right track, his family life got scattered again after he lost his wife in 2008.
After the death of his third wife, he got married to his present spouse, Margie Mather Bowes, on June 17, 2009. Currently, the baseball legend lives with his fourth wife, Margie, in Bennington, Vermont, Margie's hometown.
A Short Bio & Net Worth
Jim Kaat was born on November 7, 1938, in Zeeland, Michigan, USA. His father, Hans, also known as John by the locals, was a baseball enthusiast who passed his passion for the sport to his youngest son, Kaat. Jim played basketball and baseball during middle school. However, he always said that he wanted to be a pitcher since his early days. The Golden Glove streak holder went to Hope College, Michigan, for his high school graduation.
Kaat announcing his return as the broadcaster MBL (Source: The Team ESPN Radio)
Jim also worked as a sportscaster and has won seven Emmy Awards from his broadcasting career. In addition, he has earned a substantial amount of fortune from his career as a baseball player and sports commentator. As of 2021, he holds a net worth of more than a million dollars.
The legend, Kaat, in his 80s, is now making efforts to make things better for the upcoming baseballers.
