Former MLB pitcher Jim Kaat is in New Zealand to help out with coaching as an ambassador for the New York-based MLB Alumni Association.

Ask Jim Kaat if he is resentful, or at least envious, of the mounds of money pitchers bank from Major League Baseball these days, he laughs because he figures he still struck it lucky.

When Kaat, owner of the third longest career in the bigs, got his break on the back of his fast ball with the Washington Senators in 1959, the minimum salary was a mere $US6000 ($NZ8203) a season.

"My best year was $US285,000 ($NZ390,000) in 1983 at the [St Louis] Cardinals.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/FAIRFAX NZ MLB 25-year veteran pitcher Jim Kaat shows members of the Southern Astros how to grip a baseball during a coaching clinic in Christchurch.

"I thought I was maybe the most overpaid player in the game considering what I did," the 79-year-old explained, before pitching the benefits of baseball to a semicircle of Southern Astros on the diamond at Avonhead Park.

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"I was a left-handed reliever at that time and I'd face one or two men in specialised situations.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/FAIRFAX NZ Jim Kaat gives pitching advice to 15-year-old Ben Thompson during a coaching clinic in Christchurch.

"I remember saying to my teammates: 'I can't believe they're paying this kind of money to do very little," he smiled, before noting the minimum salary for 2017 is $US500,000 ($NZ684,000).

Kaat, who played for six franchises during a 25-year career highlighted by a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 1982, spent the long weekend in Christchurch, the latest stop of a two-month New Zealand tour that combines the pleasure of golf and fly fishing with the business of baseball.

A member of the MLB Alumni Association, the amiable 16-time Golden Glove winner and three-time All Star, Kaat was fortunately able to cash in on the benefits of free agency when it was introduced in 1976 - a system that allows the likes of latter-day lefties Clayton Kershaw and David Price to command massive contracts.

SUPPLIED Former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Kaat during his career at the Minnesota Twins.

The LA Dodgers' Kershaw reportedly made $US32m ($NZ44m) last season, plus another $US800,000 ($NZ1m) worth of endorsements.

Price, a starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, is in the same ball park in terms of earnings and in 2016 36 MLB players are signed to contracts worth at least $US20m ($NZ27.3m).

"David Price will earn more in two starts than I earned in 25 years, that kind of puts it in perspective and explains why baseball is attracting a lot of kids. They know what the career path is and the potential."

USA TODAY SPORTS Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price made more in two starts in 2016 than Jim Kaat did in his entire 25-year career in the MLB.

The Astros under-16s roster were the latest batch of ballers to listen to Kaat's wisdom and he was fine with the fact they probably had no idea who was showing them how to grip a two-seamer on Thursday afternoon.

Saw some great throwing motions in Christchurch yesterday, including this textbook finish... Nice work, Jack! #KiwiKaat #BaseballNZ pic.twitter.com/pRl94RJHhz — Jim Kaat (@KaatJim) February 3, 2017

However, he doesn't give some of today's big names the same leeway.

USA TODAY SPORTS Kyle Hendricks of the Chicago Cubs pitches during their drought-breaking World Series win over the Cleveland Indians in November.

"They don't know if we played, they don't care if we played. They don't follow the game. I've had maybe two players come up to me and say 'We really appreciate what you guys did in the 70s' because we had to take a stand.

"We went on strike in '72 to be able to get more pension benefits and maintain our share of the television revenue.

"They just think this fell out of the sky somehow. When you encounter that it can be disappointing, but they're few and far between."

Kaat admits it will also be rare for a Kiwi to follow basketball's Steven Adams' lead and make it big Stateside, though not because they won't be identified so far afield from Wrigley and Fenway Park.

"You can't hide now with the internet and everything that scouts have at their disposal. If there's someone here that's good enough, they'll be discovered," he said, aware young softballers regularly pick up college scholarships.

Kaat said cricketers could also switch hit to baseball, reckoning a nine-year-old at a coaching clinic in Nelson had one of the purest pitching motions he'd seen.

This young ballplayer has a great pitching motion after only two days... Thanks for being my pitching buddy James! #KiwiKaat #BaseballNZ pic.twitter.com/Y20SY1StMD — Jim Kaat (@KaatJim) February 1, 2017

"If I could take a young cricket player and work with on the fundamentals of pitching I think he could make that change quite easily."

Kaat spent the weekend watching a tournament named in his honour, a little league if you like where he developed his passion for the game.

"I wouldn't tell these guys if you come out here every day you're going to be a big league player, the percentages of making it to the Majors are still very, very small," he said, focusing on baseball benefits as a priceless learning experience rather than money-making exercise.

"It's a healthy sport to learn how to get along, learn sportsmanship, have a good time."

Jim Kaat

Born November 7, 1938 in Zeeland, Michigan

MLB debut: August 2, 1959 for Washington Senators (later relocated and rebranded as Minnesota Twins)

Last MLB game: July 1, 1983 for St Louis Cardinals

​MLB statistics: 283 wins 237 losses

Earned run average: 3.45

Strikeouts: 2461

Teams:- Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1959-1973, Chicago White Sox 1973-75, Philadelphia Phillies 1976-79, New York Yankees 1979-80, St Louis Cardinals 1980-83

Jim Kaat on signing his first contract: "I was offered $4000 by the Washington Senators to start in the lower leagues, the White Sox offered $25,000 but I'd be straight into the big leagues. My Dad said go to Washington because I could learn the game. Not many parents would say that today."

Jim Kaat on the game today: "The big problem with baseball in the United States is the ball isn't put in play often enough. It's become like home run derby. It's home runs and strikeouts. You want more pitchers that pitch to contact, put the ball in play, keep the game moving. The athletes are faster and stronger, there's more emphasis on how hard you can throw, how far you hit it. It was more of a finesse, touch and feel game when I played."

Jim Kaat on the support available to players today: "The care spent on developing players and taking care of them now is phenomenal. When we played we had a manager, a bus driver who was our trainer, that's all we held. Now every team has a strength coach, a pitching coach, a hitting coach. We sort of figured it out on our own. We were our own sports psychologists."

Jim Kaat's favourite pitcher today is Chicago Cub Kyle Hendricks: "I like what Kyle Hendricks did with the Cubs this past year. I think it's a good lesson for all young pitchers that you don't throw 95 miles an hour and be a power pitcher. He's learned movement, control and change speed. He was one of the most successful pitchers in the game this year, if more pitchers tried to pitch like that we would see fewer injuries, I think we'd see a better game."

Jim Kaat's favourite grounds: "Camden Yard (Baltimore Orioles) is a great downtown experience. Wrigley Field (Cubs) and Fenway Park (Red Sox) - the only two I've played in that haven't been torn down."