Jim Abbott Top 10 Moments: No. 7 - Abbott's Michigan Accolades
4/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
On April 18, 2009, former U-M baseball great Jim Abbott (1986-88) will have his number retired in a ceremony prior to U-M's 1:05 p.m. contest with Michigan State. During his time in Ann Arbor, Jim made a lasting impression on his teammates, the community and the entire baseball world.
In honor of Jim's legacy, resident Michigan baseball historian Jim Schneider has constructed the top 10 moments in the collegiate career of Jim Abbott. Each day leading up to the jersey retirement, MGoBlue.com will unveil another great moment, along with commentary from Jim himself, culminating in the No. 1 moment of all-time to be unveiled the morning of the April 18th ceremony.
Number 7 -- Abbott's Michigan Accolades
By his sophomore campaign of 1987, Jim Abbott had firmly established himself as Michigan's ace and one of the premier pitchers, not only in the Big Ten, but in the country. It was during his 1987 season that Abbott started making marks on the Michigan record books, in what turned into a lengthy list of Michigan accolades that supply moment No. 7 on the list of top 10 moments in Jim Abbott's Michigan history.
The Moment as described by Jim Schneider ...
By 1987, Jim had become dominant. That season he matched Steve Howe for the most wins in a season by a left-handed pitcher at Michigan with 11 and was one shy of the U-M single-season record of 12 held by Rich Stoll (1982 and 1983). Those 11 became part of 26 in his career that rank fourth all-time at U-M and he went on to strike out 186 batters, good for seventh on the U-M career strikeout list.
Also during that 1987 season, Jim was awarded the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Player, an honor he repeated in his magical 1988 season.
Jim Abbott on moment No. 7 ...
"It is quite an honor to have that many wins and be associated in the same list with some of the best pitchers that Michigan has ever seen. As a pitcher, you have to be thankful for your teammates when it comes to winning games. Without great defense and a team that scores a few runs, you can't win. I had a blast with Steve Howe later as Yankee teammates. Between Kammy (Scott Kamieniecki), Steve and myself, we had quite a U-M connection in New York!"
• Number 8 -- Abbott Earns Win in Title Game
• Number 9 -- Abbott Shares a No-Hitter
• Number 10 -- Abbott's First Career Win
