University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Kirk E. McCaskill 1983 - Baseball, Hockey
One of the greatest athletes in UVM history and a 1993 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Kirk McCaskill was an All-American in hockey and was All-East in baseball as both a designated hitter and pitcher in two different seasons.
He is one of a handful of athletes selected in both the Major League Baseball and National Hockey League free agent Drafts. McCaskill was taken by the Winnipeg Jets in the fourth round (64th overall) of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft and by the California Angels in the fourth round of the 1982 Major League Baseball amateur draft, the earliest a Catamount baseball player has been selected.
McCaskill played both sports professionally settling in with baseball where he spent 12 seasons in the major leagues as a pitcher. Spending seven seasons with the Angels and five with the Chicago White Sox, he finished with a 106-108 record with a 4.12 ERA while striking out 1,003 hitters. McCaskill played with the Angels from 1985-91 before signing on with the White Sox as a free agent for the 1992 season.
He made his big league debut on May 1, 1985 for California and in five seasons as a starter for the Angels he won 10 or more games highlighted in 1986 when he went 17-10 with a 3.36 ERA. In 1989 his 2.93 ERA was fifth best in the American League and he was second in the AL with four shutouts while going 15-10. On April 28th of that season he was three outs away from a no-hitter with 9-0 one-hitter against Toronto in Anaheim.
He finished his career with the White Sox as a very durable reliever and his last season was 1996. In the fall of 1986 he made the first of two trips to the postseason as the Angels won the American League West Division title. He also appeared in the American League Championship Series for Chicago in 1993.
Recruited as a hockey player (out of Trinity-Pawling in Pawling, N.Y.) by former UVM coach Jim Cross, McCaskill earned All-American honors following the 1981-82 season and was the runner-up for the Hobey Baker Award, presented to the best college hockey player in the nation. One of those rare athletes, he originally signed a baseball contract in 1982 (with California), playing in its system that summer. McCaskill returned to UVM that fall to play hockey for the Catamounts, two days after hurling a two-hit shutout in the opening round of the Northwest League championship series. However, that winter he was informed that he would be invited to the Angels' major league training camp in February, 1983. He opted to join the Angels.
The tug of war continued between baseball and hockey, and McCaskill signed a contract with the Winnipeg Jets in the fall of 1983. After spending a season with Winnipeg's AHL affiliate in Sherbrooke, Quebec (78 games, 10-12-22), hockey just wasn't in the cards for McCaskill. A lucky man, the Angels still wanted him and he returned to professional baseball and spent two more years in the minors before being called up to the majors in 1985.
At Vermont McCaskill was an outstanding pitcher his junior season (1982) going 5-0 during the regular season, but he was also an outstanding hitter, earning All-ECAC honors as a designated hitter in 1981. McCaskill set two all-time records with the bat at UVM finishing as the career leader in batting average (.356) and slugging percentage (.561).
In hockey, McCaskill was the team's MVP in 1982, the same year he earned All-American honors and was ranked one of the top ten hockey players in college hockey. In 1981-82, McCaskill scored 30 goals and 19 assists. McCaskill was also the team's top scorer as a sophomore (1980-81) with 28 goals and 23 assists. He finished his career with 83 goals and 61 assists, at the time 10th on UVM's all-time scoring list.
McCaskill and his wife, Dana, have three children, Riley, Reese and Bennett, and live in Southern California. Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario but raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona, he was named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
