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Jim Kaat enjoyed a 25-year career that spanned parts of four decades. He debuted in 1959 with the Senators and pitched four years of the 80s with the Cardinals.

One of the best fielding pitchers the game has ever known, Kaat earned 16 straight Gold Glove Awards from 1962-1977. During that time he averaged 15 wins per season, winning 243 contests.

Shown here is Kaat’s 1960 Topps rookie card autographed by the pitcher.

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Jim Kaat was all of 19 years old when he signed this contract on March 6th, 1960. The contract guarantees Kaat a penny per ball sold as long as he was in the big leagues.

By the time he retired, Kaat had 283 career wins, 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, 4 league championships, and a World Series ring.

Many believe the three-time All Star and three-time 20-game winner belongs in the Hall of Fame. Kaat was named on 87 ballots in his first year of Cooperstown consideration by the baseball writers. Though he was among the top ten vote getters almost every year he appeared on the ballot, he topped out at 29% of the vote in 1993.

Overlooked by the writers, his fate was turned over to the Veterans Committee. In 2012 he fell just two votes shy of election.

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In the collection is a handwritten letter from a 23-year old Jim Kaat to Frank Scott, one of baseball’s first player agent. It’s dated November 14, 1961. Kaat was coming off of a year in which he led the league in hit batters and wild pitches.

Though he won 9 games, he lost 17. Kaat’s career win-loss record at the time of the letter was 10-24. The rest of his career Kaat went 273-213. With 283 career wins Kaat finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to the Hall of Fame.

Scott’s story is equally interesting. According to his obituary in the New York Times, Scott’s career path was quite by accident.

“Scott’s career as an agent started almost by accident. He and his wife, the former Bette Sheppard, were visiting (Yogi) Berra and his wife, Carmen, when Carmen noticed that Scott was not wearing a watch.

” ‘She excused herself,’ Scott recalled, ‘and reappeared with a whole tray of wristwatches, at least 20, and told me to take my pick. That’s how those scoundrels had been paying off Yogi for personal appearances. He didn’t know any better. We didn’t know any better. It’s different now.’ ”

It became different when Scott started working for the players. His first clients were Berra, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Later baseball clients included Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Whitey Ford, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Larry Doby, Walter Alston, Ralph Branca, Bob Feller and Roy Campanella.

He also represented Vince Lombardi, Frank Gifford and Y. A. Tittle from football and Oscar Robertson and Bob Cousy from basketball.”

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Jim Kaat’s finest season was 1966. He led the league in innings pitched, wins, complete games, walks per nine innings, and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

For his efforts he was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. A three-time 20-game winner, Kaat posted 11 seasons with 14 or more wins.

Kaat’s longevity is evidenced by his 25 years in the big leagues. He was among the five oldest in the league each of his final eight seasons.

In the collection is this American League Pitching Leaders card signed by Kaat and Denny McLain.

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The Major League Baseball Players Association sent out questionnaires like this one to its players to determine what endorsements each man had. Today’s players compliment their baseball salary with off field endorsement but that wasn’t always the case.

This document filled out by Jim Kaat on June 18, 1973 shows him endorsing both Ford and Wilson Sporting Goods.

Interestingly Kaat got the start and the win on the next day when he threw six innings against the Rangers to earn his eighth win of the season and 187th of his career.

When Kaat retired in 1983, he was the last major league player to have played in the 1950s and the last player for the original Washington Senators.