Jim Kaat on Tarik Skubal: 'Tigers know it is win day when he pitches'

When Hall of Fame lefty Jim Kaat watched Detroit lefty Tarik Skubal start the season, he knew the Tigers' ace could be in store for a special season.

"Boy, I thought he was the real deal the first couple times I saw him. He has the size and the power and a great breaking ball," said Kaat, a Zeeland, Michigan, native.

Boy, was Kaat right.

Skubal is poised to win the pitching triple crown and is the front-runner for the Cy Young award, leading the Tigers within striking distance of the postseason.

More: Jim Kaat, now a legend of Zeeland and Cooperstown after 'surreal' Hall of Fame induction

He is 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA. He leads the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts (228) in 192 innings.

Kaat, who won 283 games in his career, had a season like that in 1966, though he pitched way more than 192 innings.

In 1966, Kaat led the AL with 25 wins, 304 1/3 innings, 19 complete games and had a 2.75 ERA. There was only one Cy Young award for both leagues combined during that time and Sandy Koufax from the NL won.

In fact, Kaat's season was so strong for the Minnesota Twins that the award was split up for both leagues the following year and has been ever since.

"That was my second year under Johnny Sain and I developed a controlled breaking ball. I had a little shoulder issue in 1965. I started 42 games but only completed seven because my shoulder kept tightening up. Johnny showed me how to use my wrist more and change my delivery a bit and it helped take the stress off my shoulder," Kaat said. "And I had much better control then."

But even bigger than his control was something he felt when he got to the ballpark. He had the confidence that his team was going to win - he just knew it.

"The mental part changed that year, too. I was about 13-9 in the middle of the season. I had just come off a win, and I just felt every time I drove to the ball park that we were going to win, I just didn't know what the score was going to be," Kaat said. "I felt that confident and rattled off nine in a row. I think a lot of it is the roll that Skubal is on right now … the Tigers know it is win day when he pitches. Everyone has that feeling and that really changes things."

It has changed the Tigers into a playoff contender, and with just three games to go, that confidence could have the Tigers playing in the postseason for the first time in a decade.

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as  Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSport s.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Jim Kaat on Tarik Skubal: 'Tigers know it is win day when he pitches'