Jim Kaat ...

Jim Kaat passes along knowledge of Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford to Red Sox pitchers

Kaat, 73, wore a Boston Red Sox shirt Tuesday at JetBlue park at Fenway South. He spent his second of three days as a volunteer guest instructor in camp at the invitation of Boston general manager Ben Cherington. Kaat and Red Sox pitching coach Bob McClure live less than two miles apart in Stuart.

“I picked up some things I felt were interesting on pitching,” said Kaat, who mentioned Hall of Famers Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford among his influences. “I just like to share those. I have a nice life, and baseball has provided me a nice life. Nobody has the answers, but everybody has a lot of ideas. I just wanted to share some ideas with them.”

...Kaat, a color commentator for more than 20 years since he retired from playing, said today’s players are bigger, stronger and faster than his peers of the 1960s and ‘70s, when he played the bulk of his 25 seasons.

“The game’s geared more toward power,” Kaat said. “I’ll give you an example. Pete Rose. If Pete Rose went to a tryout camp today, he probably wouldn’t get signed. He couldn’t run. Didn’t have a strong arm. Didn’t have any power. But he was a good baseball player. He had the baseball skills necessary to make up for the fact that he didn’t have those things. The guys today, they can get by on so much of their natural ability. They don’t need some of those subtle skills.”

Thanks to Trimble.