Jim Abbott
Amanda J Hales
April 25, 2016
Jim Abbott pitching during a 1998 Calgary Cannons minor league baseball game. Released upon request by John Traub, General Manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes Baseball Club (the successor to the Calgary Cannons), June 21, 2008. ;
John Traub / Albuquerque Isotopes Baseball Club – John Traub / Albuquerque Isotopes
Baseball is a game that requires its athletes to run and to bat, catch and pitch a ball. We know the game as America’s Pastime and it’s about as summery as you can get. Young boys and girls play as youngsters with the hopes of one day making it to the big leagues, but the big leagues are only for the elite. What happens, then, if you have a disability? Well, if you are Jim Abbott it’s no big deal.
Jim Abbott was born in Flint Michigan and attended the University of Michigan. He excelled at both baseball and football, albeit without the use of a right hand, as he was born without one. Now for some, that disability would prove too much to overcome and they certainly wouldn’t think they can do a sport and do it well, but Jim Abbott isn’t your regular disabled person, first he doesn’t think of himself as disabled, instead he is differently abled and as a pitcher, he found a way to pitch and then get ready to catch all in the blink of an eye.
If you ever saw Abbott pitch you would have noticed how fast he went from a pitcher to an infielder, never skipping a beat. He’d hold his glove between his arm and body and then when needed slip it on ready for the catch, should there be one. Abbott played for the California Angels, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers in his 10 year Major League Baseball career. He didn’t have to bat when he was in the American League as they have the designated hitter, but when he played for the National League team he had to also have his turn at bat. One armed batting can’t be easy, but he gave it a concerted effort nonetheless.
Jim Abbott won many awards, most notably the James E Sullivan award as the Nation’s Best Amateur Athlete in 1987 and the Golden Spikes Award, also in 1987. In 1988 he won a gold medal at the Olympic games when baseball was not yet an official Olympic sport. He also pitched a no-hitter, something most pitchers only dream about, in 1993.
Jim Abbott may have been born without a hand, but he didn’t stop him from doing what he loved to do and doing it well. He just found a different way of doing things and played it to his advantage.
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