Jim abbott baseball pitcher

Left-handed pitcher Jim Abbott is probably the most celebrated athlete with a major disability of his era. Born with a deformed right arm, Abbott was already a national hero before signing a professional contract with the California Angels in As a sophomore pitcher for the University of Michigan in he was named the best amateur athlete and the top amateur baseball player in the nation, and became the first U.

As a junior he garnered a gold medal as a member of the U. Olympic baseball team, crowning his amateur career by beating Japan in the final game in Seoul, South Korea.

How did jim abbott lose his hand

In his first season in professional baseball, he won a spot in the starting rotation of the pennant-contending Angels without an inning of minor-league seasoning and established himself as a topflight major-league pitcher. Otherwise, he was a strapping 6-foot-3 pounder in his prime whose physique could have served as a model for the ideal baseball player.

At the conclusion of his delivery, he would deftly slip his left hand into the glove and be ready to field the ball. After catching the ball, he would cradle the glove against his chest in the crook of his right arm and extract the ball with his left hand, ready to make another throw. Observers invariably marveled at how smoothly and efficiently he could catch and throw the ball with one hand.

Mike Abbott sold cars and worked as a meatpacker and Kathy took courses at home while raising Jim.