Although Jim Kaat pitched in four games in the 1982 Fall Classic, he failed to get a decision. The ancient veteran, 43 years young in '82 (And weeks away from his 44th birthday) was working out of the pen that year for the St. Louis Cardinals (Save for two starts). Kaat didn't even see any action in the National League Championship Series.
So when Jimmy got to the mound in game one of the World Series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, he had to wonder how much work he'd get. The Cards, you see, were trailing by a wide margin when Kaat came in.
Indeed, it was 6-0, Milwaukee by the top of the sixth inning in the opening tilt in St. Louis. Kaat got the last out of the inning. The next inning saw Milwaukee get a hit and a walk off him, but Kaat got out of there. It mattered little. St. Louis ended up losing the game 10-0.
Game two was better. Kaat came in earlier, and he was needed. Kaat came on in the top of the fifth. 3-2, Brewers, Robin Yount on second after hitting a double. But Cecil Cooper greeted Jim with a single to score him. 4-2. The next two batters were retired by Kaat, but his night was done. St. Louis rallied to win.
In game three in Milwaukee, the Cardinals really asserted themselves. They were leading 5-0 by the time Kaat came in. There was one on and one out in the bottom of the seventh. Jim got Ben Oglivie to fan, but then Gordon Thomas singled. Kaat's night was again done quickly. The Cardinals, however, won the game 6-2 to go up two games to one in the 1982 Fall Classic.
Kaat came in to douse the flames in game four, with the Cardinals leading 5-4. The Brewers had runners on the corners, and two out. But a single by Cooper off Kaat tied the game, and Jim had a blown save to his name. Ted Simmons batted next. On a 1-1 pitch, Kaat threw a wild pitch. The Cardinals replaced Kaat with Jeff Lehi, who ended up intentionally walking Simmons. St. Louis went on to win the game, but Kaat was not charged with the loss.
The Cards ended up winning two of the next three games, but Kaat did not pitch in any of them, He picked up his first World Series ring, however. 23 years after entering the bigs with the original Washington Senators. Long time coming!
References
Brenner, Richard J. The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
So when Jimmy got to the mound in game one of the World Series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, he had to wonder how much work he'd get. The Cards, you see, were trailing by a wide margin when Kaat came in.
Indeed, it was 6-0, Milwaukee by the top of the sixth inning in the opening tilt in St. Louis. Kaat got the last out of the inning. The next inning saw Milwaukee get a hit and a walk off him, but Kaat got out of there. It mattered little. St. Louis ended up losing the game 10-0.
Game two was better. Kaat came in earlier, and he was needed. Kaat came on in the top of the fifth. 3-2, Brewers, Robin Yount on second after hitting a double. But Cecil Cooper greeted Jim with a single to score him. 4-2. The next two batters were retired by Kaat, but his night was done. St. Louis rallied to win.
In game three in Milwaukee, the Cardinals really asserted themselves. They were leading 5-0 by the time Kaat came in. There was one on and one out in the bottom of the seventh. Jim got Ben Oglivie to fan, but then Gordon Thomas singled. Kaat's night was again done quickly. The Cardinals, however, won the game 6-2 to go up two games to one in the 1982 Fall Classic.
Kaat came in to douse the flames in game four, with the Cardinals leading 5-4. The Brewers had runners on the corners, and two out. But a single by Cooper off Kaat tied the game, and Jim had a blown save to his name. Ted Simmons batted next. On a 1-1 pitch, Kaat threw a wild pitch. The Cardinals replaced Kaat with Jeff Lehi, who ended up intentionally walking Simmons. St. Louis went on to win the game, but Kaat was not charged with the loss.
The Cards ended up winning two of the next three games, but Kaat did not pitch in any of them, He picked up his first World Series ring, however. 23 years after entering the bigs with the original Washington Senators. Long time coming!
References
Brenner, Richard J. The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec, David, and Scott Flatow. Great Baseball Feats, Facts & Firsts. Toronto: Signet (Penguin Group), 2010. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 30 Jun. 2015.
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