UnderdogMindset

Pitching in the majors while missing a right hand

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Jim Abbott
Terry Ballard / CC BY 2.0
Posted: Jan 2, 2022 Updated: Sep 7, 2023
Baseball Disability

Jim Abbott won 87 games while pitching 1674 innings with a 4.25 ERA. Those are solid stats but do not stand out significantly. However, he accomplished all this without having a right hand.

His best season in the major leagues was in 1991, when he pitched 243 innings with an 18-11 record and a 2.89 ERA. He threw a no-hitter in 1993 and even managed to get two hits in 1999. He is one of the greatest MLB players with a significant disability.

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Quotes

I still get a lot of letters from kids and parents who face different challenges and disabilities. I share some of the lessons that I learned through sports and baseball, which makes me feel good. It's incredible to have an impact that way.

Jim Abbott

I do, honey. I like my little hand. I haven’t always liked it. And it hasn’t always been easy. But, it has taught me an important lesson; that life isn’t easy and it isn’t always fair. But, if we can make the most out of what we’ve been given, and find our own way of doing things, you wouldn’t believe what can happen.

Jim Abbott

Related Media

Imperfect: An Improbable Life

A book about Jim Abbott and his life

References

  • How Jim Abbott settled his insecurity over deformed hand to become a successful big league pitcher

    It is a birth defect that alternately defined and defiled Abbott, brought bouts of insecurity during his childhood in Flint and brought notoriety that shadowed his successful 10-year big league career.

  • Jim Abbott

    Abbott’s right arm ends about where his wrist should be. He doesn’t have a right hand, just a loose flap of skin at the end of his underdeveloped arm. Otherwise, he was a strapping 6-foot-3 200-pounder in his prime whose physique could have served as a model for the ideal baseball player.