Phillies go all-in with trade for Kaat
When the Philadelphia Phillies traded for Jim Kaat on Dec. 10, 1975, the franchise had not advanced to the postseason in 25 seasons.
Over the next five years, the team would win four National League East titles and the 1980 World Series. And though Kaat was not on hand for all those victories, his acquisition proved that the Phils were serious about annually competing for championships.
“(Kaat) puts the Phillies right there with the Pirates and our club,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson told the Philadelphia Daily News after the trade. “They were tough. Now they’ll be tougher. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Kaat.”
Kaat was coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons with the White Sox and was baseball’s active leader in victories with 235. But Bill Veeck returned as the White Sox’s owner just days before baseball’s Winter Meetings that December, and he immediately sent Kaat to the Phillies with infielder Mike Buskey in exchange for infielder Alan Bannister and pitchers Dick Ruthven and Roy Thomas. Veeck traded Ruthven to the Braves two days later in a five-player deal that brought Ralph Garr to Chicago.
“The whole thing was predicated on Veeck getting the club,” White Sox general manager Roland Hemond told the Daily News about the Kaat trade, which had been rumored for weeks. “Bill is committed to rebuilding with youth, and we’ve taken a giant step for the future.
“Kaat makes the Phillies a great club. Not just for next season, but for several years to come. He’s one of the most beautiful individuals I’ve met in baseball.”
Phillies general manager Paul Owens echoed Hemond’s comments about Kaat.
“I fell in love with him four (or) five years ago,” Owens told the Daily News. “He’s been on my trade agenda every year but we were never in a position to get him without breaking up our nucleus. He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Jim Bunning since Bunning was 31 years old – that smart, that good a pitcher.”
Entering his 18th big league season, Kaat got the Opening Day start for the Phillies in 1976 – his third-and-final one in a career that covered 25 years. But Kaat would pitch on Opening Day three more times from 1981-83 after he transitioned into a bullpen role.
In 1976, however, Kaat – as expected – shouldered the load as a starter, working 227.2 innings over 38 appearances, a stat line that included 35 starts and seven complete games in his age-37 season. Kaat went 12-14 with a 3.48 ERA as the Phillies won 101 games to claim their first National League East title.
“I figured after the season the White Sox wouldn’t have room for a high-salaried, veteran pitcher,” Kaat told the Daily News, which reported that Kaat was making north of $100,000 on his current contract. “I told (Hemond) that if he traded me to the National League, I wouldn’t mind if it was the Phillies.”
Kaat would pitch three full seasons in Philadelphia before the Phillies sold his contract to the Yankees in 1979. When he finished his career in 1983, Kaat walked away with a 283-237 record, a 3.45 ERA and a then-record 16 Gold Glove Awards.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
“He’s an amazing (physical) specimen,” Angels general manager Harry Dalton said when Kaat was traded to the Phillies, “(and) a terrific competitor. A winner.”
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
