Flint native Jim Abbott dominated collegiate baseball at the University of Michigan before being selected eighth overall in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft.
On top of being one of the best pitchers in the majors, Abbott was born without a right hand. He spent his career proving he could be a great pitcher and baseball player no matter his limb difference.
More than 25 years after Abbott retired, his impact on sports is still being recognized.
ESPN recently released a documentary called Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott and he was awarded the prestigious Jimmy V Award at the ESPYs this July.
He joined Stateside Host April Baer to talk about his career and what it means to receive the Jimmy V Award.
The following is a transcript of the conversation and has been edited for length and clarity.
April Baer: Did you know about the Jimmy V Award before you were under consideration for it?
Jim Abbott: Well, I knew about it before the ceremony, but I was just as shocked when I got the phone call from my friend Mike Farrell at ESPN, my collaborator on the documentary that we did a couple years ago.
It's an iconic award in the sports world. These are like the athletic Oscars. It's a fancy event. A lot of people getting dressed up and a lot of famous people in the audience. So my first reaction was being deeply honored. My second reaction was terror of speaking in front of the group because there have been some very, very memorable and moving, impactful speeches that were given in association with that award.
AB: I watched the clip of your speech and it was wonderful. You said at one point that it's important to have focus on what's been given rather than what's been taken away.
Were there times in your life when your limb difference was something that you didn't have that kind of peace with?
JA: I think there was an evolution. And, you know, self-awareness comes along as we grow a little bit older. And in my case, there was always the presence of being just a little bit different whether it was on a playground or whether it was in a classroom or whether it was on a sporting field.
And so there were reminders of not looking like other kids, of not being able to do things the way other kids did them. And what you find is, those things are very present when you're young. Very present.
You think about them a lot and you process them a lot, but as you get older, it's almost like a muscle. You get stronger and you become more inured to it. You're used to it. You're able to deal with it and process it — and I think in a little bit healthier way. At least that was my experience.
AB: Can I just ask you about your technique?
You mentioned the fact that you came up with some different methods for switching the glove back and forth, and you had a technique for balancing your mitt on your right hand while you were pitching.
Is there a story about how you started doing that?
JA: It was an evolution. I learned to throw and catch with my dad. As a lot of people say, they were out in the front yard, just throwing the ball back and forth and just trying to figure out a way to get the glove, you know, because I couldn't throw with my right hand and I couldn't catch with my right hand. So I had to do this, do all of it with my left.
It was an evolution. I can't say that it was smooth all the way through. There was a lot of trial and error. And I used to — in the same way that basketball players will tell you that they used to just go out and shoot baskets by themselves imagining the countdown at the end of the game and making that clutch shot. For me, it was baseball — I used to throw a ball against a brick wall and watch it bounce back to me and try to catch it.
And I wasn't trying to practice. I wasn't trying to get better. I was just out there having fun. And I think that helped me to learn how to switch the glove on and off of my left hand.
AB: There are a lot of other athletes with limb differences who've broken through at the professional level in recent years in different ways and different sports. That said, you know, the game of baseball has just gone through some changes. Do you ever think about whether it would have been possible to have had the career that you had today?
JA: I marvel at the athleticism and the talent of the modern players, no question, but no, I truly believe that you can do things differently and still do them just as well as anybody else.
I truly, truly believe that. And I think that goes back to the spirit of my hometown in Flint, Michigan. Parents and teachers and coaches who wouldn't take no for an answer. You know, who were bound and determined to find that way of going about things and tying shoes and buttoning a shirt and switching the glove on and off.
So, yes, I firmly believe that an athlete with the talent and ability, may not be able to do it exactly the way people do it day in and day out, but I still believe they can do it just as well. I believe that is out there as a possibility.
Special thanks to director Mike Farrell and producers Brian Lockhart, Heather Lombardo, Burke Magnus, José Morales, Jimmy Pitaro, and Andrew Tennant for facilitating this interview with Stateside.
