September 4, 1993, 30 years ago: The New York Yankees host the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are in a tight race for the American League Eastern Division title with the Toronto Blue Jays, the defending World Champions, who lead them by 2 games.
Jim Abbott was the Yankees' starting pitcher. That he was in the major leagues at all was stunning: He was born on September 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan -- with only one hand. His right hand was a stub with 2 small vestigial fingers on it.
"As a kid, I really wanted to fit in," Abbott said. "Sports became a way for me to gain acceptance. I think this fueled my desire to succeed. I truly believe that difficult times and disappointments can push us to find abilities and strengths we wouldn't know existed without the experience of struggle."
When preparing to pitch the ball, Abbott would rest his glove on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his left hand into the glove, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would secure the glove between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the glove, and remove the ball from the glove, usually in time to throw out the runner at first or sometimes even start a double play.
At all levels, teams tried to exploit his fielding disadvantage by repeatedly bunting to him. But he had become so skillful at the glove switch that bunting usually didn't work any more than it did on any other pitcher.
Batting was not an issue for Abbott for the majority of his career, since the American League uses the designated hitter. But in a Spring Training game in 1991, he hit a triple off Rick Reuschel.
But he had to get there first. At Flint Central High School -- which also produced sprinter and Oakland Athletics "designated runner" Herb Washington, and former U.S. Senator Don Riegle -- he not only pitched, but played quarterback on the football team. In 1985, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, but chose to go to the University of Michigan instead.
This turned out to be a good move: He helped the Wolverines win 2 Big 10 titles, and in 1987 became the 1st baseball player to win the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in America. He also won the Golden Spikes Award, 1 of 2 player of the year awards in college baseball. (The other, generally considered to be baseball's "Heisman Trophy," is the Dick Howser Trophy, named for the Florida State legend and former Yankee shortstop, coach and manager, who led the Kansas City Royals to win the 1985 World Series.) Baseball was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and Abbott won the Gold Medal game. Michigan elected him to their Athletic Hall of Fame, and retired his Number 31.
In 1988, his draft status having lapsed because of his time in college, he was drafted again, by the California Angels. In 1989, he made the team out of Spring Training without playing a single minor-league game, and went 12-12. In 1991, despite the Angels finishing at .500 at 81-81, he went 18-11, and finished 3rd in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award.
After the 1992 season, the Angels traded him to the Yankees, for 1st baseman J.T. Snow, and pitchers Russ Springer and Jerry Nielsen. The pitchers never really made it, but Snow, not needed in New York because of Don Mattingly, became an All-Star. In contrast, going into September 4, 1993, Abbott was just 9-11. The Yankees needed a better performance from him if they were going to make the Playoffs.
He began this game by walking Kenny Lofton, but got Félix Fermín to ground into a double play. He walked Randy Milligan in the 2nd, but stranded him. Mike Gallego led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk off Bob Milacki, was singled to 2nd by Wade Boggs, and was singled home by Dion James. There were 2 bad throws on the play, and Boggs and James were also able to score. The Yankees led, 3-0.
Abbott walked Milligan again to start the 5th, but got another double play, this one grounded into by future Boston Red Sox slugger and Yankee nemesis Manny Ramírez. Randy Velarde hit a home run in the bottom of the 5th, to extend the Yankees' lead to 4-0. Abbott walked Junior Ortiz in the 6th, and Jim Thome in the 8th, but stranded both of them.
The tension was building. Abbott, whose very presence in the major leagues had made a little history, was 3 outs away from making the story even better: Pitching a no-hitter is one of those achievements that is said to allow a player to "achieve baseball immortality." And the Yankees needed the win, and, with the lineup that the Indians were building, which would win 6 Division titles, including 2 Pennants, over the next 8 years, and the short porch in right field at the old Yankee Stadium, a 4-run lead with 3 outs to go was not completely safe.
Abbott got Lofton to ground to 2nd. He got Fermín to fly to center. And he got the dangerous Carlos Baerga to ground to short. Velarde threw to Mattingly, and the game was over: The Yankees had the win, and Abbott had the no-hitter.
WABC-Channel 7's Eyewitness News went with
"Hey, Abbott!" which was Lou Costello's greeting
for comedy partner Bud Abbott.
The Daily News went with a play on "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
The Blue Jays lost, 4-2 to the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium. (The home team is now named the Los Angeles Angels, and the stadium is now known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim.) Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4, but it wasn't enough for the Jays. So the Yankees closed to within 1 game. The next day, again, the Yankees won and the Jays lost, so there was a tie for 1st, at 78-60.
However, the Yankees tailed off, going 10-14 down the stretch, including losing 2 of 3 to the Jays in Toronto, and the Jays ended up winning the Division by 7 games, before going on to repeat as World Champions. Abbott finished at 11-14 with a 4.37 ERA. This was the last completed season before Major League Baseball began a new setup of 3 Division plus a Wild Card Playoff team in each League, so the Yankees were out of luck -- this time.
But the 1993 season was a turning point: After 4 straight bad seasons, the rebuilding effort had begun to pay off. The Yankees led the AL East by 6 1/2 games when the Strike of '94 hit, won the AL Wild Card in '95, and started a new dynasty in '96.
Jim Abbott would not be a part of it, however: A free agent after the 1994 season, he signed with the Chicago White Sox, who soon traded him back to the Angels. He was released in Spring Training in 1997, but was re-signed by the White Sox in 1998. In 1999, he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers, so he had to bat for the 1st time in a regular-season game. In 21 at-bats, he had 2 hits, both for RBIs, and both off Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs, although not in the same game.
After the season, Abbott retired with an 87-108 record, a 4.25 ERA, and a 1.433 WHIP. If all you knew were those stats, and the no-hitter, you might say he was an ordinary pitcher who had one extraordinary day. But because of what he had to overcome, every day that he pitched was an extraordinary day.