Jim Abbott

James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who achieved success at the major league level despite having been born without a right hand. He played ten seasons in MLB for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999.

Jim Abbott
Abbott in 1998
Pitcher
Born: (1967-09-19) September 19, 1967
Flint, Michigan
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 8, 1989, for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
July 21, 1999, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record87–108
Earned run average4.25
Strikeouts888
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medal record
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
1988 Seoul Team
Pan American Games
1987 Indianapolis Team
Baseball World Cup
1988 Rome Team

He graduated from Flint Central High School and grew up in the East Village area of Flint, Michigan. While with the University of Michigan, Abbott won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's best amateur athlete in 1987 and won a gold medal in the demonstration event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was drafted in the first round of the 1988 MLB draft and reached the major leagues the next year. As a member of the Yankees, he threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians in 1993.[1] Abbott retired with a career record of 87 wins and 108 losses, along with a 4.25 earned run average. He currently works as a motivational speaker.[2][3]

Playing career

Amateur years

Abbott was born in Flint, Michigan.[4] He was picked up by the Ypsilanti, Michigan, American Legion team and went on to win the championship. He graduated from Flint Central High School in Michigan where he was a stand-out pitcher and quarterback.[5] He played for the Grossi Baseball Club during the summer in the Connie Mack leagues of Michigan. He was drafted in the 36th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign, instead moving on to the University of Michigan.

He played for Michigan three years under coach Bud Middaugh, from 1985 to 1988, leading them to two Big Ten championships. In 1987, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States, becoming the first baseball player to win the award.[1][4] Abbott was the flag-bearer for the United States at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, helping lead the US to a second-place finish.[4][6] Baseball was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Summer Olympics; Abbott pitched the final game, winning an unofficial gold medal for the United States.[4] Abbott was voted the Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 1988. He would be selected 8th overall by the California Angels in the 1988 draft. Abbott's University of Michigan #31 jersey was retired at the Wolverines' April 18, 2009 home game against Michigan State University. [4]

In 2007, Abbott was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame for his career at Michigan.

MLB career

In 1989, Abbott joined the California Angels' starting rotation as a rookie without playing a single minor league game. That season, he posted a 12-12 win–loss record with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.92,[4] and finished fifth in the year's American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award voting.

In 1991, Abbott went 18–11 for the Angels, who finished in last place in the AL West with an 81–81 record. Abbott posted the fourth-lowest ERA in the AL (2.89) while pitching 243 innings. As a result, Abbott finished third in the AL Cy Young Award voting.[4] In the 1992 season, he posted a 2.77 ERA (fifth-lowest in the AL) but his win–loss record fell to 7–15 for the sixth-place Angels.[4] Abbott also won the Tony Conigliaro Award in 1992.

In the offseason, the Angels attempted to trim payroll and traded Abbott to the New York Yankees for their top minor league prospect first baseman J.T. Snow, pitchers Russ Springer and Jerry Nielsen. Abbott had an up and down year for the Yankees but on September 4, 1993, Abbott pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.[4] On November 26 in the same year, Abbott appeared as himself on the TV series Boy Meets World in the episode "Class Pre-Union".

1999 Milwaukee Brewers #25 Jim Abbott home jersey

In 1994, Abbott's Yankees led the AL East, but the season halted, and the playoffs were canceled, due to a players strike on August 12. The following year, after starting the season with the Chicago White Sox, he returned to the Angels, who held an 11-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in August, but lost the AL West division title in a one-game playoff to the Mariners.

He struggled through the 1996 season, posting a 2–18 record with a 7.48 ERA and briefly retired.

Abbott returned to the White Sox in 1998, starting five games and winning all five. Abbott continued his comeback the following year with the Milwaukee Brewers, but pitched ineffectively. This was the first time he had played for a National League team, forcing him to bat for the first time in his career. He recorded two hits in 21 at bats during his Brewers stint. Both of his hits scored runs, and both of hits came off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber, albeit in different games.

Abbott retired after the 1999 season with a career record of 87–108, with a 4.25 ERA.

Playing with one hand

When preparing to pitch the ball, Abbott would rest his glove on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his hand into the glove, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would secure the glove between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the glove, and remove the ball from the glove, usually in time to throw out the runner at first or sometimes even start a double play. At all levels, teams tried to exploit his fielding disadvantage by repeatedly bunting to him.[7]

Batting was not an issue for Abbott for the majority of his career, since the American League uses the designated hitter, and he played only two seasons in the interleague play era. But Abbott tripled in a spring training game in 1991 off Rick Reuschel,[8] and when Abbott joined the National League's Milwaukee Brewers in 1999, he had two hits in 21 at-bats, both off Jon Lieber.[9][10] New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera claimed to have witnessed Abbott hitting home runs during batting practice.[11]

Awards

Autobiography
Jim Abbott, post retirement

In April 2012, Abbott's autobiography, Imperfect: An Improbable Life (ISBN 0345523253), co-written with Tim Brown, was published by Ballantine Books.[16]

gollark: In DC aeon wyerns forecast the weather.
gollark: I've got it! It's based on the mean temperature of Chicago!
gollark: Or when Venus is in prograde. Unless Jupiter is passing through Pisces.
gollark: Mine will hatch tomorrow, so we shall see.
gollark: They're not worth much, unfortunately.

See also

References
  1. Jim Abbott Hickoksports Biography Archived March 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine Hickoksports Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
  2. "Official Jim Abbott on Facebook". Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  3. "Jim Abbott book signing and public events". Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  4. Berg, Chuck (2002) [1992]. Dawson, Dawn P (ed.). Great Athletes. 1 (Revised ed.). Salem Press. pp. 4–6. ISBN 1-58765-008-8.
  5. Jim Abbott Biography Retrieved on July 24, 2006.
  6. The Games of August: Official Commemorative Book. Indianapolis: Showmasters. 1987. ISBN 978-0-9619676-0-4.
  7. Society for American Baseball Research: The Biography Project Retrieved on December 16, 2008
  8. Abbott raps single, throws five innings Archived October 25, 2004, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on August 24, 2008.
  9. Cubs 7, Brewers 4, June 15, 1999 Retrieved on August 24, 2008.
  10. Cubs 5, Brewers 4, June 30, 1999 Retrieved on August 24, 2008.
  11. Kepner, Tyler (June 6, 2007). "Talkin' Baseball With the Yankees". New York Times Bats blog.
  12. WRAL (April 14, 2008). "Coach Yow Receives Courage Award From U.S. Sports Academy :: WRALSportsFan.com". wralsportsfan.com. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees". Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  15. "Cooper Receives Viscardi Award". University of Pittsburgh. 2014.
  16. Erskine, Chris (April 1, 2012). "Book review: 'An Improbable Life' by Jim Abbott and Tim Brown". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2013.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Chris Bosio		 No-hitter pitcher
September 4, 1993		 Succeeded by
Darryl Kile
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