Kornacki: Reminiscing with Graduation Speaker Jim Abbott
4/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jim Abbott's focus these days is as a motivational speaker. And while nobody was forecasting that Abbott would win the 1987 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete while pitching for the University of Michigan or throw a no-hitter for the New York Yankees, seeing him as someone who could lift you with his words is no surprise.
Abbott was born without a right hand but found ways to use that limb to field his baseball position and also play quarterback at Flint (Michigan) Central High. And what he could do with a baseball in that left hand was something else. He won 87 games in Major League Baseball and finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting in 1991 for the California Angels.
The kid found a way even though so many believed there was no way he could play, let alone dominate baseball at the highest level and even win an Olympic gold medal game.
Abbott, now 49 with a daughter playing volleyball for the Wolverines, returns to Michigan Friday (April 29) to throw out the first pitch before a game with Michigan State and then speak at the Student-Athlete Graduation Celebration later that evening.
I spoke with him this week while he was connecting for a flight to Orlando, where he was speaking to the customers of a national corporation, and asked about the theme of his message to the graduates at Crisler Center.
"I'm going to talk about my connection to Michigan and the doors it opened for me," said Abbott. "I'll touch on the idea that all things are possible with a little creativity, preparation and some belief."
The U.S. Sports Academy presented him its Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award in 1986 for courageous action in overcoming adversity to excel in sports.
Major League Baseball, through the Boston Red Sox, presented Abbott the 1992 Tony Conigliaro Award as the player who best exemplified overcoming obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.
He's inspired countless people with his example, words and unassuming perspective.
"I've been very lucky," said Abbott. "My post-baseball career has been blessed with great opportunities. I somehow found a little niche in the speaking world. I've been able to craft a talk out of the experiences I've had in my playing days.
"It's kind of taken off, and I travel quite a bit. I have a chance to share the experiences I've been through, and it's turned out to be an incredibly rewarding second chapter in my life."
Abbott's baseball career was magical, and he earned enough rewards to fill a small museum. What, of all the honors, did he cherish most?
"I cherish everything," said Abbott, "and that goes down even to the difficult times. My career had a lot of great moments, but I also had some real disappointments and retired much earlier than I'd hoped.
"But all of that went into my experience. I had a chance to play in some fantastic places: New York City, Anaheim, Chicago and Milwaukee. Coming from Flint, Michigan, I never dreamed I'd be a New York Yankee or play on the West Coast, where I live today."
Abbott paused for thought before continuing.
"And I don't want to sound corny in saying this," he said. "But to be honest with you, I cherish my connection with the University of Michigan as much as anything. It really means a lot to me, and it's grown in its importance to me because so much was possible because of the opportunity I had to play at Michigan, the exposure that I received and what (Coach) Bud Middaugh did for me.
"That opened the door for me to play with the U.S.A. team, and that opened the door for me to play professionally. So, I've been very blessed, but I put being a Michigan Wolverine right near the top. People might roll their eyes at that, but so much was made possible by my decision to go to school in Ann Arbor."
Abbott was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame and Michigan Hall of Honor in 2007, and he became only the sixth Wolverine baseball player to have his number, 31, retired in 2009.
"I can't believe it," said Abbott. "I pinch myself every time I think about it. My daughter (Maddy) goes to Michigan now and plays volleyball, and that's 50 yards away from home plate (at Fisher Stadium) over at Cliff Keen (Arena). That is something I savor and enjoy so much.
"Sometimes, I stop over at the baseball field, and I'm just so thankful, I really am. I remember shagging balls in my first day of practice and looking around. I couldn't believe it, that I was playing at Michigan, and that dream came true, and to make an impact and be remembered like that was almost like it happened to someone else. I don't feel like it was even me."
Michigan won two Big Ten Tournaments and two regular-season conference titles and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of Abbott's three seasons, 1986-88.
He won the AAU's Sullivan Award and the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top amateur baseball player in 1987. Abbott was the first baseball player named Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 1988. He was the U.S. flag-bearer at the 1987 Pan American Games, playing on the silver medal team, and that year also beat the Cuban national team widely accepted as the top amateurs in the world is a series between the U.S. and Cuba in Havana.
Abbott was selected by the California Angels in the first round of the 1988 draft. The Toronto Blue Jays had taken Abbott in the 36th round in 1985 out of Flint Central, where he threw four no-hitters and batted .427 with seven homers as a senior.
So, at Michigan, he jumped from pick No. 826 as a high school player to the No. 8 pick after three college seasons.
"It was exponential improvement," said Abbott. "There were questions about my hand and whether I could field the position. I hate to use the word 'oddity,' but there was some uncertainty in the professional and college ranks about me.
"I had good size (6-3, 200 pounds), I was left-handed, and I threw hard. But there were those questions, and by coming to Michigan I was able to answer them. The proving ground there enabled me to make that leap."
Abbott tried having a prosthetic limb in elementary school but discarded it for a variety of reasons. His father, Mike, focused on having him overcome the challenge by developing a technique of transferring the mitt from the stub at the end of his right limb to his left hand as soon as he released pitches.
They worked on throwing and fielding with Jim pitching a rubber ball against a brick wall and getting closer to the wall as his success increased.
Middaugh further refined his fielding to assure teams couldn't easily bunt for hits against Abbott.
"Over at the old field house in the winters," said Abbott, "I would work with Bud Middaugh constantly on fielding bunts down the first-base and third-base lines, and I developed that skill to a much higher degree than was necessary in high school."
After Michigan, the challenge of the majors offered the ultimate test, and Abbott was more than up to it.
His best season was 1991, when he went 18-11 with a 2.89 ERA and finished third in Cy Young voting.
"I was as confident as I ever was on the mound," said Abbott. "I felt like, on a big league field, I had the upper hand for once. That was an incredible feeling, to feel like you belonged and was a positive contributor at that high a level."
His best game came on Sept. 4, 1993, in the heat of a pennant race, when he threw a no-hitter for the New York Yankees against the Cleveland Indians in 4-0 victory.
"At the end of the game," said Abbott, "your heart's in your throat. For the last nine outs, you're on bated breath. But the fact that it came in Yankee Stadium was really cool, wearing the pinstripes and having a small sliver of history with that team is something I'm really proud of."
The Indians had a lineup featuring four players who won Silver Slugger Awards as the top hitter at their positions: Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Carlos Baerga. They were a combined 0-for-12 against Abbott that day.
"My teammates made some incredible plays, and I certainly didn't over-power the Indians that day," said Abbott. "But things just seemed to go my way. The last out was a ground ball hit by Carlos Baerga that was a roller to (shortstop) Randy Velarde that took forever to get there. There was such electricity that it was like I was plugged into the wall.
"Velarde threw the ball across the infield to (first baseman) Donny Mattingly, who was one of my favorite teammates, and, boom, there it was, it was staggering."
Abbott pitched until 1999 and now lives in Corona del Mar, California, with his wife, Dana, a former University of California-Irvine basketball player. They have two daughters, Ella and Maddy, who was second with 434 assists on the Wolverines volleyball team as a freshman.
"We saw some games during the season," said Abbott, "and I'm really proud of her. She accepted the challenge to play at Michigan, which was daunting for her. She made a very positive contribution to the team, and I don't think she can squeeze more out of the ability she has. That's all you can ask.
"Our younger daughter is in ninth grade, and so we have a freshman in high school and a freshman in college. Ella is a pretty good little water polo player. She's working at it, and both girls work for what they have.
"I have a great family. I'm really blessed."
Abbott co-authored his autobiography, "Imperfect: An Improbable Life," with baseball writer Tim Brown in 2012.
Abbott studied communications at Michigan, and said he hasn't gotten to around to completing his degree. He left after his junior season and went straight to the major leagues. Then motivational speaking became a natural career path.
Abbott also worked with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.
"My involvement with them was doing some work to create awareness of what people with disabilities can bring to the workplace," said Abbott. "That's a resource in our community that isn't always tapped into, and my story articulated that message pretty well.
"Baseball was a sport where they didn't care how you got it done. They didn't care if you played with one hand, two hands or whatever as long as you were effective. That was the message we tried to spread to different people in the business world about the potential in the workplace for people with disabilities."
Abbott remembered the looks he received at athletic team tryouts.
"That was my message to the Department of Labor: not to be bound by expectations and pre-conceived notions," said Abbott. "Just because somebody shows up looking different or with a little bit different challenge that certainly doesn't limit their ability to help or make a difference.
"I faced skepticism and some uncertainty, but I just hoped for the opportunity to prove myself, and I was fortunate to have that every step of the way -- at Flint, at the University of Michigan and professional baseball."
During a motivational speech, Abbott once quoted this line from "All the Pretty Horses," a book by Cormac McCarthy:
"He said those who have endured some misfortune will always be set apart, but that it is just that misfortune which is their gift and which is their strength."
Success via determination can come from many places, even those where others see misfortune. James Anthony Abbott is ready proof of that.
• Student-Athlete Graduation Celebration to Feature Abbott as Keynote Speaker
