Jim Kaat, MLB Network broadcaster, apologised on Friday after saying teams should try to “get a 40-acre field full of” players who look like Chicago infielder Yoan Moncada during an AL Division Series game between the Houston Astros and White Sox. 

Kaat, a former All-Star pitcher and longtime commentator for the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins, made the remark in the first inning of Game 2 in response to a comment from broadcaster Buck Showalter about Moncada, who is Cuban.   

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In reply to Showalter’s statement, Kaat said, “Get a 40-acre field full of them,” a remark that reminded some viewers of the unfilled promise by the US government that freed slaves would receive 40 acres and a mule following the Civil War. 

The 82-year-old Kaat apologized during the fifth inning.

“Earlier in the game when Yoan Moncada was at the plate, in an attempt to compliment the great player that he is, I used a poor choice of words that resulted in an insensitive and hurtful remark,” he said. “And I’m sorry for that.”  

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Who is Jim Kaat?

Kaat is a former All-Star pitcher and longtime commentator for the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. He won 283 games in Major League Baseball. 

He was the co-record holder, with Brooks Robinson, with sixteen consecutive Gold Gloves. His total of 16 is second overall to Greg Maddux, tied with Robinson.

He won a Gold Glove in 1969, with a fielding percentage of .826 and a range factor of 1.49, both far below average for the time.

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Kaat was the last of the Washington Senators to retire as an active player after the team relocated to Minnesota 22 years ago. He was the pitcher for the Minnesota Twins when they won their first pennant in 1965 (oddly enough at their former home of Washington, DC).

Since his playing career ended, he was a Cincinnati Reds coach in 1984 and 1985, a Twins broadcaster from 1988 to 1993, and a New York Yankees broadcaster from 1995 to 2006.

He was designated as a special assistant to the Minnesota Twins organisation in 2018, where he worked on a variety of community and business projects in Minnesota as well as in the Fort Myers, FL region, where the Twins’ spring training facilities are situated.