{"id":23374,"date":"2022-07-23T15:28:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T15:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/jim-kaat-and-tony-oliva-set-for-hall-of-fame-induction\/"},"modified":"2022-07-23T15:28:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T15:28:49","slug":"jim-kaat-and-tony-oliva-set-for-hall-of-fame-induction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/jim-kaat-and-tony-oliva-set-for-hall-of-fame-induction\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva Set for Hall of Fame Induction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">COOPERSTOWN, NY \u2014 A humble little baseball sits at the bottom of a display case for David Ortiz on the third floor of the Hall of Fame.  No hologram, no elaborate markings.  In thick black ink, just below the red-seam horseshoe, someone scrawled \u201cFirst HR.\u201d  Under that, in lighter pen: \u201cBig Show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Big Papi Show was still in preproduction that day, Sept.  14, 1997, when Ortiz swatted the first of 541 home runs on his way to first-ballot induction here on Sunday.  His years with the Boston Red Sox made him a transcendent star, but when he hit that first homer, he was playing for the Minnesota Twins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The other inductees took the long way here, elected through a small-committee vote in December: Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Minnie Mi\u00f1oso, Buck O&#8217;Neil and the two other living members, Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, who will represent the Twins \u2014 the same franchise that released Ortiz in 2002, just before his Boston breakthrough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI&#8217;m not going to be getting many endorsement opportunities like Big Papi,\u201d Kaat said recently, \u201cunless they have, like, Duracell Battery for long life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kaat and Oliva were born in 1938 and spent a combined 30 seasons with the Twins&#8217; franchise.  Their induction means that five Hall of Famers played for the Twins from 1970-73, including Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to research by the Hall of Fame, no team has had more than five Hall of Famers at once in the division-play era.  Besides the Twins, the others with five are the 1970 Chicago Cubs, the 1980 Boston Red Sox and the 1982 and 1984 Milwaukee Brewers.  None of those teams won the World Series, as Ortiz did three times with the Red Sox, but the 1970 Twins, who were 98-64, had the best regular-season record of the group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou had to play really well to beat them,\u201d said the Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, whose Baltimore Orioles swept the Twins in a best-of-five American League Championship Series that fall, repeating their feat from 1969. \u201cThey had Really good balance \u2014 power, a little bit of speed, well-managed, and great fans in the old ballpark.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Kaat played his first two seasons for the original Washington Senators, who moved to Bloomington, Minn., about two weeks after Bill Mazeroski homered for Pittsburgh to beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series.  It was the start of the expansion era and part of a surge of franchise movement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI reported to the clubhouse in the instructional league on Oct.  26, 1960 and I had Senators across my chest \u2014 and by the end of the day, it was Twins,\u201d Kaat said.  \u201cThat was the day that the Washington Senators became the Twins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe, as players, thought it was a great move because we remembered what a positive move it was for the Braves to go from Boston to Milwaukee.  Little things, like we&#8217;d hear they get these deals to get a car to drive for the season, stuff like that.  So coming up here with MLB being new, being welcomed with open arms, I mean, the performance was secondary.  Fans here were just happy to have big league baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After a 90-loss debut season, though, the performance was extraordinary.  The Twins won 817 games from 1962 through 1970, more than every other AL team except the Orioles.  Kaat was among the era&#8217;s top pitchers, winning 146 games in those seasons, trailing only Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Oliva arrived for good in 1964, winning the Rookie of the Year award and the first of three batting titles.  He was one of several Cuban players signed by the Senators\/Twins scout Joe Cambria, including the 1965 winner of the AL&#8217;s Most Valuable Player Award, shortstop Zoilo Versalles.  The environment helped the transition for Oliva, who never played for another team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI remember Jim Kaat told me, &#8216;You&#8217;re going to feel like home, because one-third of the ball club is Cuban,\u201d Oliva said.  \u201cI was so happy to be here with the Minnesota Twins, because it made me feel like home.  In those days I didn&#8217;t speak one word of English, and they took care of me, they babysitted me.  They were very nice, all those Cubans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Knee injuries robbed Oliva of the longevity of many of his contemporaries;  he finished with a .304 average, but only 1,917 career hits.  He was not a singles hitter, either, once leading the league in slugging percentage and finishing with 220 homers, more than 13 members of the 3,000-hit club.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverybody says, &#8216;What&#8217;s the highlight of your career, the shutout against Sandy Koufax in the World Series?&#8217;\u201d Palmer said.  \u201cI&#8217;ll tell Tony, &#8216;No, the day I struck you out twice.&#8217;  Wally Bunker used to say, &#8216;Tony Oliva \u2014 oh, leave us alone!&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Oliva hit .344 for his career against Palmer (though he never homered off him) and punished another Hall of Famer, Catfish Hunter, for a .333 average and eight homers.  He hit .314 in three postseason series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Before the two ALCS defeats to the Orioles, the Twins fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series.  Kaat beat Koufax in Game 2 (after Koufax had refused to pitch the opener because it fell on Yom Kippur) but lost to him in Games 5 and 7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI was pretty realistic in &#8217;65 \u2014 I mean, to try to get a couple runs off Koufax, we were fortunate to get two of them in Game 2 and one of them was unearned,\u201d Kaat said.  \u201cSo it&#8217;s not like we blew the series or anything like that.  And then of course I thought we&#8217;d get back.  When you&#8217;re in your 20s and you&#8217;ve got a good team: &#8216;Oh, we&#8217;ll get back.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Twins declined in the early 1970s, even with all those Hall of Famers, and waived Kaat in 1973. He revived his career with back-to-back 20-win seasons for the Chicago White Sox under the pitching coach Johnny Sain, then bounced to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Yankees and, finally, the St.  Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There, in 1982, Kaat earned a championship ring when the Cardinals beat the Brewers and their Cooperstown quartet of Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, Don Sutton and Robin Yount (closer Rollie Fingers was injured).  By then, everybody else from the 1965 World Series had retired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThat 17-year wait was the longest any player&#8217;s had to wait to get back to the World Series,\u201d Kaat said.  \u201cAnd then getting that World Series ring \u2014 I found this out from the Elias Sports Bureau \u2014 no athlete in any professional sport has played 24 seasons before getting a championship ring.  So that&#8217;s what made that &#8217;82 season worth the wait and very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Twins would finally win the World Series in 1987, with Kirby Puckett leading the way, and again four years later.  But those teams could not match their early-&#8217;70s predecessors for membership in the Hall of Fame, where Kaat and Oliva \u2014 that long-life duo \u2014 will now have plaques forever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COOPERSTOWN, NY \u2014 A humble little baseball sits at the bottom of a display case for David Ortiz on the third floor of the Hall of Fame. No hologram, no elaborate markings. In thick black ink, just below the red-seam horseshoe, someone scrawled \u201cFirst HR.\u201d Under that, in lighter pen: \u201cBig Show.\u201d The Big Papi &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/jim-kaat-and-tony-oliva-set-for-hall-of-fame-induction\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva Set for Hall of Fame Induction<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24881,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/david-ortiz-the-first-career-designated-hitter-to-be-selected-on-first-ballot-headlines-baseball-hall-of-fames-induction-ceremony\/","url_meta":{"origin":23374,"position":0},"title":"David Ortiz, the first career designated hitter to be selected on first ballot, headlines Baseball Hall of Fame&#8217;s induction ceremony","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"COOPERSTOWN, NY -- The National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted seven new members during induction ceremonies on Sunday. But the afternoon of speechifying, poignance and remembrance belonged to Big Papi.\"Wow! Cooperstown!\" began David Ortiz, kicking off his speech to the crowd sprawled across the grounds at the Clark Sports Complex.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25016,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/in-a-heartfelt-hall-of-fame-induction-speech-red-sox-great-david-ortiz-touched-em-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":23374,"position":1},"title":"In a heartfelt Hall of Fame induction speech, Red Sox great David Ortiz touched &#8217;em all","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In all, an estimated 35,000 people gathered for the Hall of Fame induction on Sunday, the vast majority of them there to pay tribute to the player known as Big Papi.In a 19-minute speech as emotional as one of his walk-off home runs, Ortiz rewarded their journey.\u201cWow, Cooperstown!\u201d Ortiz said.With\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24907,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/big-papi-a-big-hit-at-his-baseball-hall-of-fame-induction\/","url_meta":{"origin":23374,"position":2},"title":"Big Papi a big hit at his Baseball Hall of Fame induction","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"COOPERSTOWN, NY (AP) \u2014 David Ortiz promised to speak from the heart. As usual, Big Papi delivered. His megawatt smile tinged with a tad of emotion, the former Boston Red Sox slugger was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday \u2014 after his daughter Alexandra sang the national\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24531,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/david-ortiz-leads-baseball-hall-of-fame-inductees-after-stellar-career\/","url_meta":{"origin":23374,"position":3},"title":"David Ortiz leads Baseball Hall of Fame inductees after stellar career","date":"July 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! David Ortiz was among the baseball legends who were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Gil Hodges, Minnie Mi\u00f1oso, Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler joined the former Boston Red Sox great in Cooperstown.Ortiz was a 10-time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25023,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/david-ortiz-meets-rousing-reception-at-hall-of-fame-induction\/","url_meta":{"origin":23374,"position":4},"title":"David Ortiz meets rousing reception at Hall of Fame induction","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"David Oritz delivered a rousing speech in front of an exultant crowd to highlight Sunday's Baseball Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, New York.The Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins slugger was one of seven players formally inducted into the Hall alongside Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2022\/07\/24\/sports\/23kepner-hof-teamphoto\/merlin_210460485_10705da5-016e-4ad2-bfff-bc15c8793cc8-facebookJumbo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}