Baseball is a game that requires its athletes to run and hit, catch and throw a ball. We know the game as America’s Pastime and it’s about as summery as it gets. Young boys and girls play like youngsters hoping to one day make 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’re Jim Abbott, it’s no big deal.

Jim Abbott was born in Flint Michigan and attended the University of Michigan. He excelled in both baseball and football, albeit without the use of a right hand, as he was born without it. Now for some, that disability would be too difficult to overcome and they certainly wouldn’t think they could play a sport and do it well, but Jim Abbott is not a normal disabled person, he doesn’t consider himself disabled in the first place. Instead, he has different abilities and, as a pitcher, he found a way to throw and then set up to catch everything in the blink of an eye.

If you ever watched Abbott throw, you would have noticed how quickly he went from pitcher to infielder, without missing a beat. He would hold his glove between his arm and body and then, when necessary, put it on ready for the catch, should there be one. Abbott played for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers in his 10-year major league career. He didn’t have to hit when he was in the American League since they have the designated hitter, but when he played for the National League team he also had to have his turn at bat. A swinging hit can’t be easy, but he made a concerted effort nonetheless.

Jim Abbott won many awards, most notably the James E Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete in 1987 and the Golden Spikes Award, also in 1987. In 1988 he won a gold medal at the Olympics when baseball was not yet an official Olympiad. sport. He also threw a no-hitter, something most pitchers only dream of, in 1993.

Jim Abbott may have been born without a hand, but it didn’t stop him from doing what he loved and doing it well. He just found a different way of doing things and took advantage of it.