From King of the Hill to King of the Road
Baseball Great and Yankee Broadcaster Jim Kaat Loves RV Travel
RESTON, Va. (September 22, 2006) — Jim Kaat has devoted the past 50 years to major league baseball, first as an All-Star pitcher, and now as a broadcaster for the New York Yankees. He also has another passion: traveling in his state-of-the-art recreation vehicle (RV).
The former king of the hill is now the king of the road. “I’ve gone from being a major league pitcher to a major league RV owner,” says Kaat. “I’ll travel roughly 5,000 miles in my RV this year. It’s a great way to see America, and as relaxed a way to see the country as there can possibly be.”
When the Yankee season ends, Kaat, his wife, Mary Ann, and their two cats, hit the road in their 36-foot motorhome, and by the end of the year will have visited at least 20 states.
“You can’t beat the convenience and comforts of an RV,” says Kaat. “It really takes the stress and hassle out of traveling.”
The RV makes it possible for Kaat to combine his love of travel with golf. “I’ll play many of the top courses during our trips,” he says. “The nice thing about the RV is that we have our home with us. We don’t have worry about reservations and losing our golf clubs or our luggage. We keep everything we need onboard and we’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. And we don’t have to leave our cats behind.”
The Kaat’s motorhome has a living room and bedroom that both slide out with the push of a button to create extra space. “I love that feature,”says Kaat. “When we pull into a campground and put the slides out, we have all the room we need. I also have plenty of storage space for my clubs.”
Kaat appreciates the freedom and flexibility RVs offer. “RVing allows for impromptu detours,” says Kaat. “If something looks interesting, we can go exploring because we’re not on a set schedule. And if Mary Ann and I get tired while we’re on the road, we’ll take a break and have a snack in our climate-controlled motorhome.”
The Kaats also enjoy spending time at RV campgrounds as they travel around the country. “We’re real campers,” says Kaat. “When we pull into a campground, we love to roll out our awning, set up our lounge chairs and cook on our grill.”
From 1959-1982, Kaat won 283 games in the big leagues pitching for five teams. His best season came in 1966 when he won 25 games for the Minnesota Twins. He was an All-Star three times, won 16 Gold Glove awards and earned a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.
Kaat discovered RVing through baseball friends Bob Gibson and Bill White, who are avid RV owners. “They got us interested, so we rented an RV for a couple trips and found out about all the benefits and decided to buy our own,” says Kaat.
As a professional athlete and Yankees broadcaster, Kaat is a frequent traveler. But he’ll tell you his most memorable trips have been in his RV.
Order a free RV “getting-started” DVD or CD-ROM at 1-888-Go RVing or GoRVing.com. Surf the website for lists of Go RVing dealers and campgrounds in your area, as well as RV shows, publications, rental sources and clubs. Or write to: RVIA, P.O. Box 2999, Dept. P, Reston, VA 20195.
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