Meet Jim Abbott
Jim Abbott is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, from 1989 through 1998. However, Jim may be best remembered for playing Major League Baseball despite being born with only one hand.
Until recently Jim was reluctant to speak for the needs of people with disabilities. He never wanted to be viewed simply as the one-handed pitcher. However, after being approached by the U.S. Department of Labor he has gained a greater understanding of his ability to help and to shine a light on the hiring disparity for people with disabilities.
Jim is now committed to using the platform that baseball has provided him to change the mindset that businesses and people in general have when it comes to people with disabilities in the workplace. As a baseball player he was judged based on what he could do, now what he couldn’t do. Jim now seeks to instill that same perspective in businesses across the country. His first effort on this front is to serve as the spokesman for the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s PITCH Campaign (Proving Individuals with Talent Can Help).
During the months of August and September, 2008 Jim will appear at several Major League ballparks and will speak to local, regional and national media members to spread the word about the value that people with disabilities can bring to the workplace.
Jim grew up in Flint, Michigan, attending Flint Central High School, where he stood out as both an elite pitcher and quarterback, leading his high school football team to a state championship. Despite being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1985 MLB Draft, Jim opted for college and pitched at the University of Michigan. He played at Michigan for three years, where he was honored in 1987 as the first baseball pitcher to ever win the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.
The following year was a remarkable one for Abbott, as he was drafted 8th overall by the California Angels in the 1988 draft, in addition to being a key player on the Gold Medal-winning USA Baseball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Jim then went on to join the starting rotation of the California Angels in 1989, without ever pitching one minor league game. He won 12 games in his first professional season, the most wins for rookie pitcher since Mark Fidrych won 19 games in 1976.
Jim compiled 87 career wins, finishing with a lifetime 4.25 ERA. His most memorable moment came on September 4, 1993, when he pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians as a member of the New York Yankees.
Today, Jim Abbott resides in Southern California with his wife Dana and two children.
Click to see ongoing programs and activites
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