Imperfect

Jim Abbott, “Imperfect,”  Kindle Book, 2012

I was browsing through online Kindle books available through the library and ran across this book.  I vaguely remembered a major league player who had one-hand and briefly played for my home team, the Milwaukee Brewers.  So I got the book.  The format of the book is interesting as it intersperses chapters detailing Abbott's biography with a no-hit game he pitched in 1993 against the Cleveland Indians.

Jim Abbott was born in 1967 missing his right hand for a reason never determined; Thalidomide is never mentioned as a cause and I have no reason to believe it was a factor.  In spite of this handicap, he graduated from Flint Central High School in Michigan where he was a stand-out pitcher and quarterback.  He then went to The University of Michigan for three years (1985 to 1988) and led their baseball team to two Big Ten championships.  During the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987 he was the flag-bearer and helped to lead the US to a second-place finish.  Baseball was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Summer Olympics and Abbott pitched the final game, winning an unofficial gold medal for the United States. He was voted the Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 1988 and was selected 8th overall by the California Angels in the 1988 draft.

MLB career,   No-Hitter: defeated the Cleveland Indians 4–0 on September 4, 1993

In 1989, Abbott joined the California Angels' starting rotation as a rookie without playing a single minor league game.  In his career, he also played for the Yankees, White Sox, and ended with a very short presence with the National League Milwaukee Brewers.  As the Brewers were in the National League he was required to bat: he recorded two hits in 21 at-bats.

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 mitt on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his left hand into the mitt, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would secure the mitt between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the mitt, and remove the ball from the mitt, 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.

Jim Abbott was and remains a truly inspirational figure to children with all sorts of deformities, not just missing an arm or hand.  He spent a significant amount of time meeting with such children.