Minneapolis – It’s hard for Major League Baseball players to transition out of the game after they retire. Jim Kaat has been involved with MLB and the teams he played for in one capacity or another since his retirement after the 1983 season, which means he’s spent 67 seasons around the game since debuting in 1959.
While Kaat is not broadcasting much anymore with the Minnesota Twins, his first franchise, he still spends time around the team whenever he can. In recent years, he’s developed a strong relationship with Twins ace Joe Ryan. Their relationship began during Kaat’s final years in the booth, before he retired from color commentary work in August 2022.
“He’s the man,” said Ryan. “He was one of the first guys I met when I got traded over here. I went to the booth, and he was here that day, and signed a ball for me and wrote a little cool thing on there.”
“I communicate pretty consistently with Joe Ryan,” Kaat said. “I’ve always been a fan of Joe’s, so we text each other back and forth. But you know, there’s quite a separation.”
The separation Kaat speaks to is how the game has evolved so much from when he threw his final pitch on July 1, 1983. Ryan threw his first pitch in the big leagues on September 1, 2021, 38 years and two months after Kaat’s retirement.
Kaat was a reliever in the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen when he retired. Still, it was a time when starters were fixated on racking up complete games and adding wins in their record column more than anything else.
Ryan has only thrown one complete game in his career, on June 22, 2023. Getting a win on his individual record is more of an afterthought compared to his typical focus on what he’s doing on the mound each start. Today’s starting pitchers are more fixated on their strikeout-to-walk ratios, velocity, spin movement on pitches, and numerous other statistics that were not on the back of a player’s baseball card in 1983.
But the mental challenges haven’t changed much since people started playing Major League Baseball. That’s what has drawn Ryan to lean on Kaat’s advice and mentorship the most. Kaat is one of only 10 players in the game’s history to have played 25 or more seasons in the majors.
“I think it’s more the mental side of stuff and just competition, and refocusing and different aspects there,” said Ryan. “We haven’t really dove into too many details of pitch shapes or execution, usage, and stuff like that. But it’s more like, mental side of outings, and usually he’s cool about shooting me a text a couple of days after a start, or after the game is over, or something.”
“There’s a pretty big divide today than at any other time in the game with the science or the analytics in baseball that, when I see him, I encourage him,” Kaat added. “That’s probably the best thing I can do. I think they have their own style and pitching today that we didn’t have. So I don’t try to intrude on that, but I’m always there to offer encouragement.”
Almost every major league player would want to play for 25 years. However, it’s not realistic for everyone, which is why only .000042% of the 23,590 players in MLB history have accomplished the feat. So whenever one of those ten players is around a clubhouse to visit with today’s players, they’re going to take the opportunity to build a relationship with one, as Ryan has done with Kaat.
“We’ve got his number in here, see his name every day, but just to see someone who’s had so much success in his career and play so long and still involved in the game,” said Ryan. “It’s cool to be able to reach out, talk to him, ask questions. He gives advice here and there, but he’s super respectful. It’s always a good time when he comes around.”
Most of their relationship has been through text, but Ryan is open to possibly going golfing with Kaat sometime in the off-season. Kaat is still an active golfer, but Ryan knows his competitive nature on the mound might not translate smoothly into a golf swing. That’s why he’d be open to taking lessons to tame that down and keep up with Kaat on an 18-hole course.
“I’m not a huge golfer as it is. Definitely not in-season,” said Ryan. “I should go probably take some lessons, get my swing right, because I get too amped up and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, I’ll play easy, I’ll shank one, I’ll lock it in,’ and then I’ll be sore afterwards because I’ll be swinging out of my shoes the whole time.”
There are many differences between Ryan and Kaat. One’s a righty, the other is a lefty. One holds the record for the most consecutive Gold Gloves won, at 16, and the other is still searching for his first. One grew up 20 miles away from San Francisco, while the other grew up in a western Michigan town that has fewer than 6,000 people today.
But one thing they’re accomplishing together is bridging the gap between the early days of Twins baseball at the Old Met to where it is today as the 2025 season winds down. Not every franchise can claim to have one of its Hall of Famers from the 1960s and current All-Stars building a meaningful relationship. That’s why Joe Ryan and Jim Kaat are proud to be building up their relationship for the betterment of the Twins and each other.