20354428 Nothing is Impossible Jim Abbot Story

8/9/2019 20354428 Nothing is Impossible Jim Abbot Story

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Find something you love,

and go after it, with all of your heart - Jim Abbott

SUMMARY:

Born, Sept. 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan without a

right hand. He was an All-America hurler at

Michigan; won Sullivan Award in 1987; threw 4-0

no-hitter for NY Yankees vs. Cleveland (Sept. 4,

1993). Jim played for 10 seasons on 4 different teams

and ended his big league playing career in 1999.

Today, in addition to being a Guest Pitching

Instructor during Spring Training for the Los

Angeles Angels, Jim Abbott is a motivational

speaker. Unique as a sports speaker because hisstory, and the way he delivers it, appeals to many

types of audiences, even those who are not sports

fans. In his keynotes, Jim Abbott uses motivational

sports stories of how he overcame adversity, and

anecdotes from his career as a professional baseball

pitcher. Abbott also works with The Department of Labors Office of Disability

Employment Policy (ODEP) on several initiatives encouraging businesses to hire people

with disabilities. For the PITCH (Proving Individuals with Talent Can Help) campaign,

Jim, ODEP and Major League Baseball combine efforts to help raise awareness about the

talent people with disabilities have to offer.

The Jim Abbott Story

Jim Abbott has battled the odds his entire life. Despite being born with only one hand he

was the 15th player to ever make a professional debut in the Major Leagues. Many

considered the move a publicity stunt by manager Doug Rader, but after struggling early,

Abbott proved his doubters wrong by winning 12 games with a 3.92 ERA in his rookie

season.

On the mound, Abbott wore a right-hander's fielder's glove at the end of his right arm.

While completing his follow-through after delivering a pitch, he rapidly switched the glove

to his left hand so he could handle any balls hit back to him. In that first 1989 season as aprofessional he won more games as a rookie than any other previous player without Major

League experience.

Abbott spent hours as a youngster bouncing a ball off a wall to practice fielding as well as

throwing. He was the starting quarterback on his high school football team, which went to

the finals of the Michigan state championship, and he showed enough promise as a pitcher

to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays shortly after graduation.


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However, Abbott went to the University of Michigan on a baseball scholarship. Abbott led

the Wolverines to Big Ten titles in his freshmen and junior years and won the prestigious

Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the outstanding college baseball player in the

United States.He had a career record of 26 wins and 8 losses at the school.

As a member of Team USA in 1987, he became the first American pitcher in 25 years tobeat a Cuban team on Cuban soil. The team won a silver medal at the Pan-American

Games and Abbott won the U. S. Baseball Federation's Golden Spikes award as the best

amateur player in the country.

Abbott participated in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, pitching a complete game seven

hitter, leading the United States to the Gold Medal in a 5-3 victory over Japan. The United

States first ever, gold medal in Olympic Baseball competition.

He then joined the California Angels following the Olympics. Jim made his pro debut in

spring training and made it to the Major Leagues without playing in the minor leagues,

which was the beginning of a tremendous Major League career. His most famous highpointis perhaps throwing a no-hitter for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in 1993.

His baseball achievements include the Sullivan Award (best amateur athlete in the United

States), male athlete of the year for the 1988 Olympic Games, and many awards at

Michigan including the Jesse Owens Athlete of the year.

But the awards that best define Jim Abbott would be those that exemplify courage and

overcoming adversity.

March of Dimes Athlete of the Year (twice)

Academy Awards of Sports, Courage Award 1991 Victory Award recipient at the Kennedy Center Washington D.C. Freedom Forum's Free Spirit Award

Today Jim Abbott is a professional motivational speaker. He has been featured in USA

Today, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, Parade Magazine, People, and Baseball

America. He has been featured during Olympic coverage, and has appeared on ESPN,

Good Morning America, CNN, Larry King, Phil Donahue, George Michael Sports

Machine, NBC Nightly News, ABC News Person of the Week, Late Night with David

Letterman, and the ABC television series Boy Meets World.

Jim Abbott was invited to throw out the first pitch at game 7 of the 2002 World Series andrecently participated in his first Yankees Old Timers Day.

As a philanthropist, Jim Abbott donated 100,000 dollars to Amigos de los Ninos, an

organization that aids groups that care for children in California.

He is an inspiration to all that meet him or have followed his career. More than his no-

hitter, his 13 strike out game, a seven game winning streak, overcoming an eleven game


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losing streak, Jim Abbott became a great baseball player and a great person. He learned to

overcome adversity and be an inspiration to those around him.

On A Personal Note

Jim lives in California with his wife, two children and their dog. His parents still live inMichigan. Jim and his family take the Summer off each year to stay at the lake, and visit

with family and friends. Jim has a younger brother.

Jim Abbott Time Line

1985: Drafted, selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 36th round of the 1985 free-agent

draft; did not sign, instead went to college at Michigan University. Posted a 26-8 mark with

a 3.03 ERA in three years at Michigan.

1987: Named the Golden Spikes Award winner by USA Baseball;

1987: He was the first baseball player to win the AAU's Sullivan Award as the top amateur

athlete of the year. The Sullivan, known as the " Oscar" of sports awards, and older than

The Heisman, the AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the

United States. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930.

August, Jim Abbott carried the United States flag during the opening ceremonies at the

1987 Pan American Games in lndianapolis, Indiana.

1987: July 18, the first American pitcher to defeat Cuba in Cuba in 25 years.

1987 and 1988: Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher

1988: Voted the left-handed pitcher on The Sporting News college All-America team.

1988: Member of the U.S. Olympic baseball team. Abbott pitched a complete game leading

the United States to a gold medal victory over Japan, in Seoul, Korea.

1988: The first baseball player to win the Jesse Owens Award as Big Ten Male Athlete of

the Year.

1988: Big Ten Baseball Player of the Year

1988: Drafted by the California Angels in the 1st round (8th pick) of the 1988 amateur

draft. Jim Abbott was one of only three pitchers during the 1980s to win his first

professional game at the major league level.

1991: Victory Award recipient at the Kennedy Center Washington D.C.


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1992: Traded by the California Angels to the New York Yankees for J.T. Snow, Jerry

Nielsen, and Russ Springer.

1993: As the pitcher for the Yankees Jim Abbott no-hit the Tribe, 4-0, in a game at Yankee

Stadium. Abbott was the first Yankees pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a decade.

1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox. In the same year he was traded

by the Chicago White Sox with Tim Fortugno to the California Angels for McKay

Christensen, John Snyder, Andrew Lorraine, and Bill Simas.

1996: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels.

1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.

1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.

2000: Began professional motivational speaking.

2004: Inducted to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

2007: Elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

2008: The University of Michigan awarded him an Honorary Degree Doctor of Laws.

2008: PITCH spokesperson for the US Department of Labor

Those who have hired Jim Abbott to speak will tell you what a truly motivational keynote

speaker he is. His style of speaking is humble and humorous. He shows your audience,employees or members of your association how to overcome obstacles and difficulty. He is a

living example that disability does not define you, but rather your ability.

Motivational speakers can lift and inspire your team. Those who are a living example of

overcoming adversity, like Jim Abbott, are the best at bringing the message into the hearts

of the listener. His messages use many sports anecdotes, but is 100% appreciated and loved

by even those who are not sports fans.

To contact Jim Abbott,

call Lilly Walters in our California Office, 909-398-1228

Jim Abbott Speech - ADAPT: Overcoming Adversity

(c) Jim Abbott, 2004 (may only be reproduced with permission)


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People will tell you that I overcame obstacles -- maybe. But the truth is I was incredibly

blessed in my life. More was given than was ever taken away.

Some of you may know that my career statistics weren't that great. There were some

incredible highlights and some agonizing low lights. The truth is, I won't go to the hall of

fame. But if a career can be measured by special moments, lessons learned and aconnection with people, then I would stack mine up with anyones. Maybe there is an

obligation to share. To try and learn from the experiences life puts us through.

When you play major league baseball it is easy to become self-absorbed. Your world can

become very narrow. One of the aspects of speaking is that I enjoy getting out in the real

world and seeing how hard people work. I have been amazed at how much their pursuit of

excellence is similar to that same pursuit on a baseball diamond.

The challenge for me as a professional speaker has been to try and formulate a common

language. The word that I have come up with is APAPT. To continue to move towards our

goals we must be willing to adapt. To change, and mold ourselves in order to meet theobstacles in our own way. Using APAPT as an acronym you can put together a powerful set

of words that stand alone in their significance, but they also string together like a chain in

an amazing way.

A - adjustability

D - determination.

A - accountability

P - perseverance

T - trust (c) Jim Abbott, 2004

A - adjustability

Let me start with A. Adjustability. To achieve great things in this world you must be able

to adjust to what is being asked. My dream wasn't to play in the major leagues. My dream

was to play baseball at all. In order to do that, I had to develop a new way of doing things. I

really wanted to join in with my friends but to do that I needed to learn to play in a much

different way than they did. When you NEED something, you find a way.

I can't take credit for this. I was surrounded by wonderful people, who had the patience

and creativity to help me devise the strategies I would need to get through life. Starting of

course, with my parents, teachers, friends. If there is courage in my story, it was theirs.

Their generosity of spirit gave me an ingrained optimism that there is a solution to be

found for any problem. It may take some flexibility but it is there.I learned along the way, that doing things in new ways always involves risk. You have to be

willing to take a chance. You will also expose yourself to a lot of skepticism. Those who will

say you can't do it that way, which bring us to the next word in our ADAPT chain.

D - determination


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Once you've found your way, you have to work it make it happen. Once you've found what

you love, don't let anything stand in your way. I don't have to tell you that the only way to

get what you want is to work your butt off. We all know that. A pitchers success depends

on the training he puts in before he takes the field.

There is another aspect of determination that I think is equally as important. We talked

about those who say you can't. You must be determined in your belief that you can. I canthink of so many examples of people who in one form or another questioned my playing

ability.

Many teams bunted over and over again to see if I could make that simple play. One team

bunted 6 times in a row.

My first college win came when they tried to steal home on the catchers throw back to me.

My point is that you have to create a strong filter that weeds out the negativity in whatever

form it takes. You know what I mean. When we aren't feeling so strong, little things can

keep us down, little comments, and body language from your boss. Even our own thinkingcan be corrosive when we let any thought carry us away.

You have to be determined not to let someone elses opinion of you define what you think of

yourself. Only you know in your heart all the things you are capable of.. Which brings us

to accountability.

A - accountability

Accountability the heart and soul of my adapt chain. Basically accountability says that we

are responsible for the abilities we've been given. It is unforgiving. When we look in the

mirror can we say that we've made the most of our talents, no matter how big or howsmall? Are we making the most of the potential we have in all aspects of our lives. As a

father, as a husband, as a co-worker. Accountability is brutal, but we need it to keep

pushing ourselves to be the best we can be.

P - perseverance

Sticking with it. Life is full of ups and downs and how we respond to adversity makes us

who we are. You may have seen the highlights, the good times in my career, but there were

many difficult times.

In 1996 I went out and had what might be one of the worst years a pitcher can have. Two

eighteen.

Sports had always been my crutch. For an insecure kid who wanted very much to be

accepted, success in athletics covered up a lot of hurt for a long time. But in 1996 it all came

crashing down. I was failing. As hard as I tried it would just get worse. By the end of they

year I was sent to the minor leagues for the first time in my life. I'm not going to tell you


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that I handled that year with all of the grace I would have liked. All I could do was to keep

on trying. The following spring I was released from the Angels. Cleaned out my locker in

front of my friends and drove home alone through the Arizona desert. My whole world was

upside down. I missed it so much. I desperately wanted to get back, but I was also gun shy

from going through a year and a half of failure.

Inspiration can come from unexpected places. An old manager called, he told me that he

didn't think I was finished. And that's all it took, we started working.

Finally things turned around instead of baby steps those I started making large strides

until I was able to call my wife and tell her the Chicago White Sox had just called me back

to the big leagues. I could have kissed the mound. To make it back seems to me as great an

accomplishment as making it in the first place. That experience illuminated to me that no

matter how far we go in life we will continue to be tested. There is no finish line.

T - trust

Trust is my favorite and it is appropriate that it comes last. After youve found your way,

after you have put the work in, after you have made the most of the abilities you were

given, and stuck with it, it comes down to trust. Believing in the incredible amount of work

you've done and knowing you are prepared for anything. When push comes to shove you

draw your line in the sand and say this is who I am.

Trust in yourself. That belief that you can do it. Trust in yourself you believe that you can

respond in any circumstance.

Throwing a no-hitter was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me. To

throw it in Yankee Stadium made is even more dramatic. That game is the greatest

illustration I can think of to demonstrate the importance of trust. During that game thepressure starting mounting in the 6th inning. Pitch by pitch the fans were getting excited,

and the atmosphere were becoming electric. That day the mound at Yankee Stadium began

to feel like the eye of a hurricane.

Fans, teammates, result thinking, everything starts speeding up big time.

The challenge was to bring it back to the laser like focus this pitch to that spot come on now

trust it. Throw this pitch with confidence.

You see its that trust, that last little oomph in the delivery that makes all the difference.

It all comes back to trusting in yourself and the work you have done, you re ready for this,

bring it on.

So that is why I am a big believer in ADAPTing. Not only can we mold ourselves to the

challenges that come our way. We can also break that word down into those 5 components

and give ourselves 5 incredible strategies, and apply them any aspect of our lives.

But going through life with a few extra challenges has made me a better person, not better

than anyone else but better than I would have been. I've learned that sometimes adversity

can be a good thing.


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The bible tells us to be grateful in every situation. I am grateful for mine.

- Jim Abbott

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20354428 Nothing is Impossible Jim Abbot Story