Baseball Player: Jim Abbott

Did you know that the first and only baseball player who played with one arm was a man named Jim Abbott? He was born in Flint, Michigan on September 19, 1967. Jim Abbott's parents were still teenagers when they had him. Raising a child at such a young age was difficult enough, especially a child with a disability, but Mike and Kathy Abbott resolved to make their son's life as normal as possible (sabr.org). Abbott’s father loved him unconditionally. Jim was not pampered or treated differently from his brother due to his handicap. He had to follow same rules and he had to live up to his father’s expectations. Abbott believed in himself , as his father believed in him and he was able to achieve what he did ,empowered by the love of his dad. Jim started showing an interest in sports at an early age. Trying to nudge him toward a sport that didn't depend on the use of his hands, his parents bought him a soccer ball. But Jim didn't really like soccer. After all, every other kid in the neighborhood was playing baseball so that's what he wanted to do. Ironically, it was Jim's younger brother, Chad, who became a soccer player (sabr.org).

Jim Abbott said, “I have never thought of my birth defect on liking terms. I disliked it some, …show more content…
Despite his early success, most people figured the competition would soon pass him by. In his early years, people started doubting him because he only was playing against small kids that were not very good. Eventually he started to play older kids and became better and better. “On June 1,1998 the day of baseball amature draft, Bobby Fontaine the scounting director for the California Angels, stood in a doorway in the executive office at Anaheim Stadium and told Tim Mead the Angels PR man about Jim, “ soon he was standing out with kids that were assumed to be really good. The rumor wasn’t a lie he was really amazing at