Minnesota Twins: Twins to retire Jim Kaat’s Number 36

The lockout continues onward, and Minnesota Twins fans are eager for any baseball-related news or fun that they can find. There’s minor league deals, team announcements, and rumors, and for most of the offseason, the Twins were quiet.

Then, just yesterday, the Minnesota Twins gave us a glimmer of hope: the team announced it would retire Jim Kaat‘s number:

The Twins’ pitcher spent 15 years with the team, making two All-Star teams and winning 11 Gold Gloves as one of the longest-tenured members of the organization. He never dominated like Sandy Koufax or Johan Santana, but his sustained very-goodness helped him out here.

He was inducted as a member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2001 with Herb Carneal as a member of the team’s second class. He’s one of the best players in Twins history, and that helped him earn his induction to the Hall of Fame for 2022.

Talk about an incredible year for the legendary former Twin. The legendary broadcaster will see his number 36 hung up in the rafters on July 16th, 2022, and the Minnesota Twins will add a tenth retired number, joining Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, and Jackie Robinson are the six other Hall of Famers with their numbers retired by the team.

Tom Kelly, Joe Mauer, and Kent Hrbek are the three other retired numbers, and despite Kelly and Hrbek not quite being Hall-worthy, there’s hope that someday Mauer will earn that great achievement as well.

This is an incredibly exciting moment for the team, Kaat, and his family, and i’ll look forward to seeing his number up on the limestone for years to come.