Jim Abbott and the most underrated achievement in sports history

This evening, a long overdue documentary debuts on ESPN. A 90-minute E60 treatment, Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott chronicles the remarkable life of an overlooked inspiration.

Abbott, the titular star, pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 1993. That, alone, qualifies him as a compelling subject, but Abbott’s accomplishment was all the more enthralling – all the more miraculous, even – because he was born without a right hand.

The fact that Abbott even made the big leagues is astounding. That he did so as a pitcher is heroic. And that he tossed a no-hitter for the game’s most historic franchise is almost incomprehensible. Yet rarely is his unique journey mentioned, much less celebrated. Until now.

Indeed, I have long considered Abbott’s one-handed, pinstriped no-hitter the most underrated achievement in sports history. It is egregious how such an improbable feat is so routinely overlooked, and I’m glad Abbott will finally be recognised by a global audience.

Again, without wishing to sound crude, it is worth reiterating the emphatic details. This was a guy born with no right hand. Abbott’s right arm ends just above the wrist, forming a rounded limb that posed unique challenges on the baseball diamond. (1) And while seemingly insensitive at first blush, such a graphic description is required to explain the true magnitude of his achievements. 

In a world where 0.09% of high school baseball players reach the major leagues, Jim Abbott did so with one hand. (2) That is incredible. But not only that, Abbott pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees. Hollywood would reject such a farfetched script. 

There is even more to this story than is regularly acknowledged, though. In high school, Abbott quarterbacked the football team. (3) In college, he led the Michigan Wolverines to two Big Ten baseball championships. (4) He became the first baseball player to win the James E. Sullivan Award, given to the most outstanding collegiate athlete in America, in addition to winning the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player. (4) (5)

In 1988, Abbott helped the United States to a gold medal at the Olympics. Baseball was only a demonstration sport that year in Seoul, but Abbott pitched a complete game against Japan in the championship clincher, and even recording two defensive assists in a famous 5-3 victory. (6)

More than a mere novelty act, indeed, Abbott was a bonafide ace, and the Angels selected him in the first round of the 1988 draft. Jim made his big league debut in 1989; finished third in Cy Young voting in 1991; and was traded to the Yankees – for JT Snow, Russ Springer and Jerry Nielsen – in 1993. (7)

A cunning craftsman with a wicked sinking fastball, Abbott’s metronomic success lulled people into forgetting his handicap. Upon entering his windup, Abbott balanced a glove on his right wrist, then swiftly – and almost imperceptibly – switched it to his left hand to be in a position to field.

Teams often tried to bunt on Abbott, keen to explore any perceived weakness, but he became so proficient at finding a way to compete, those tactics rarely worked. Mariano Rivera even saw Abbott hit batting practice home runs, such was his ingenuity, and Jim logged two career hits – both off Jon Lieber, oddly – in 24 career plate appearances. (7) (8)

But it was as a pitcher that Abbott authored his greatest moment, no-hitting the Cleveland Indians – featuring Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Carlos Baerga – at Yankee Stadium on 4 September 1993. Entering the game – attended by 27,125 – Abbott had an ordinary 9-11 record and a 4.31 ERA, but everything clicked for him on another of those magical days at the big ballyard. (7) 

Abbott walked five, struck out three, and benefited from a dazzling defensive play by Wade Boggs to preserve the no-no, which was complete when Baerga grounded out to short. (7) Abbott was mobbed by his teammates and, ever the selfless comrade, made sure Matt Nokes, the Yankee catcher, shared in a prolonged ovation. (9) 

Unsurprisingly, Abbott never experienced another day like it. After making 56 starts for the Yankees – going 20-22 with a 4.45 ERA – the southpaw bounced between the White Sox and Angels before finishing his career with the Brewers in 1999. Abbott retired at 32, and though his 87 career wins and lifetime 4.25 ERA do not leap from the record book, context circles those accomplishments as truly outstanding. (7) 

Admittedly, calling Abbott’s no-hitter the most underrated sports achievement of all-time may be a stretch. ‘Underrated’ is, after all, an entirely subjective descriptor that can never be satisfactorily corralled. However, without devising an entire algorithm – itself reliant on subjective criteria and weighting – to anoint Abbott’s masterpiece, it is a phenomenal, anomalous achievement that, for some reason, is rarely broached in popular discourse.

Sure, the genius of Babe Ruth is well chronicled, as are the exploits of Barry Bonds, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Arguably, some of their achievements can still be considered underrated – in their sheer extraterrestrial nature – but in this endeavour, I’m focusing more on overlooked gems in the sporting almanac.

In canvassing exceptional sporting accomplishments that are unlikely to be repeated, we can all vouch for Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game; Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak; Cy Young’s 749 complete games; or Fernando Tatís Sr. hitting two grand slams in the same inning. But rarity is only one part of the equation that highlights Abbott as worthy of greater praise. Those aforementioned feats are enmeshed in sports lore, whereas Abbott’s no-hitter is comparatively obscure.

There are rare and under-appreciated sporting achievements to be discovered, if you dig a little deeper. Poland winning soccer gold at the 1972 Olympics. Ice skater Eric Heiden sweeping five gold medals, from sprint to marathon, at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Jack Morris pitching 10 shutout innings in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Frankie Dettori winning all seven races at a 1996 Ascot meeting. Ronnie O’Sullivan compiling a five-minute 147 break at the 1997 world snooker championship. Wladimir Balentien breaking the Japanese single season home run record held by Sadaharu Oh.

However, even those sequestered jewels lack the fairytale, ‘against-all-odds’ enchantment of Abbott’s no-hitter. Closer to that niche, there are remarkable tales of athletes with disabilities achieving at the highest levels – from fencer Pál Szekeres becoming the first person to ever win Olympic and Paralympic medals to punter Tom Dempsey establishing a 63-yard field goal record despite lacking toes on his kicking foot. (10) (11)

In baseball, Mordecai ‘Three Finger’ Brown made the baseball Hall of Fame despite lacking two digits on his pitching hand. Freddy Sánchez won a batting title in 2006 despite a club foot that doctors thought would preclude him from walking, let alone playing professional sports. (12) And David Freese performed his 2011 World Series heroics while suffering severe depression. (13)

Still, without wishing to demean any of those extraordinary achievements, Jim Abbott’s no-hitter stands alone for me. Maybe that’s because I’m a baseball diehard. Or perhaps it’s because I’m a Yankee fan. Regardless, I believe strongly in Abbott’s case, and I will savour the ESPN documentary. I hope you do, too. It is an inspirational man finally getting his due, and nobody should begrudge him that.

Sources

1. Swaine, Rick. SABR. [Online] https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jim-abbott/.

2. NCAA. [Online] https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2015/3/6/baseball-probability-of-competing-beyond-high-school.aspx.

3. Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame. [Online] https://gfashof.org/inductee/abbott-jim/.

4. USA Baseball. [Online] https://www.usabaseball.com/golden-spikes-award/history/winners/jim-abbott.

5. Wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Sullivan_Award.

6. Vecsey, George. New York Times. [Online] September 29, 1988. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1988/09/29/152388.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock&pageNumber=43.

7. Baseball Reference. [Online] https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abbotji01.shtml.

8. Kepner, Tyler. New York Times. [Online] June 6, 2007. https://archive.nytimes.com/bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/talkin-baseball-with-the-yankees/.

9. Appel, Marty. Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss. 2012.

10. International Paralympic Committee. [Online] https://www.paralympic.org/news/pal-szekeres-only-one-win-paralympic-and-olympic-medals-keeps-leading-way.

11. Sigler, John. Yahoo! Sports. [Online] July 6, 2025. https://sports.yahoo.com/article/tom-dempseys-legendary-63-yard-105535411.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACrKL3843mg3JIfwjh0_ICbgAFz1jmL2pyD7ThDH4OBurzBHLU6q7Q6m88K64AHn8-KqGiPzxzlI6X5UDuG93ZBlPO2w1L_.

12. Robinson, Alan. Associated Press. [Online] October 2, 2006. https://www.heraldstandard.com/sports/2006/oct/02/sanchez-secures-nl-batting-title-in-pirates-win-over-cincinnati/.

13. Nightengale, Bob. [Online] April 20, 2017. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/04/20/david-freese-world-series-mvp-depression-alcohol-pirates/100703658/#:~:text=He%20would%20wake%20up%20mornings,t%20care%20about%20my%20life.