Twins Announcer Jim Kaat Criticized For 'Nestor The Molester' Comment

DETROIT, MI —Minnesota Twins broadcaster and Baseball Hall of Fame electee Jim Kaat is in hot water again as a result of an on-air comment Thursday that has been called offensive, according to the Associated Press.

Last fall, Kaat, now 83, was forced to apologize for a comment that some believed was racially insensitive, which he made during a national television broadcast on MLB Network.

On Thursday, Kaat was calling the Twins game against the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports North when he began praising Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr., whom he referred to as "Nestor the Molester."

"'Nestor the Molester,' Nestor Cortes. Angles and different speeds. He's a pitcher," Kaat said.

According to the AP, Cortes has affectionally become known as "Nasty Nestor," because he has been so hard to hit this season. Kaat's nickname for Cortes is not one that has been familiar to the public.

Kaat did not address the remark publicly, but Dustin Moore, the Twins vice president of communications and content, told the AP that he had spoken to Kaat after the game.

"Obviously, we take these matters seriously and like in all cases will handle this internally and privately," Morse said.

Morse added: "Jim meant no ill will."

On Friday, Cortes wrote on Twitter that Kaat had apologized to him, though Cortes said the apology was not necessary.

"Hey everybody —Jim Katt has spent an entire lifetime in this game we love," Cortes wrote. "He reached out to me and apologized for his remark last night, but he didn't need to. We all make mistakes and (I) feel 100 percent there was no malice intended. I plan on lifting him up with this tweet and I hope others do too. No sweat her Jim."

During the 2021 MLB Playoffs, Kaat was trying to praise White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada when he said that teams should try to "get a 40-acre field full of" players who look like Moncada.

He apologized on the air after some viewers believed the comment was in reference to the U.S. government promising freed slaves would receive 40 acres and a mule after the Civil War.

"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. And I'm sorry for that," Kaat said later in the broadcast.

Kaat won 283 games during his 25-year MLB career, which included 12 seasons (1961-72) with the Twins. He was elected to the Hall of Fame last December, and will be inducted during a ceremony on July 24 in Cooperstown, New York. Former Twins outfielder Tony Oliva also will be inducted that day.

Kaat is a longtime announcer for the Twins, Yankees and on national television broadcasts.