**LOG: RT: RUSS THAYER; JA: JIM ABBOTT; MS: MALE SPEAKER**

RT: My name is Russ Thayer. This is Washington Post Live. (Music)

> Back to Washington Post Live with Mark Stern and Lynn Shapiro from the
> Washington Post and it's really a pleasure to have Jim Abbott on the
> show, a Michigan man, a U.S. Olympian, and of course 15 years ago
> tomorrow pitched a no hitter for the New York Yankees at Yankee
> Stadium. And welcome to the show.

JA: Thank you very much. Great to be here.

RT: And you know we're watching Olympics this year, the baseball team
and the softball teams. What were you thinking knowing that this could
be it for Olympic baseball? What was your experience like and would you
like to see it remain in the games?

JA: I was really disappointed to see, you know, first of all baseball
because I have such a history there and it was such an incredible
experience, you know. We played as amateur players; we were all
collegiate baseball players, nobody had played professionally. We had
one singular goal; to win for the United States, you know, and I pitched
the final game and I honestly think the before or since I had never been
as nervous as I was before that Gold Medal game. When you have the
United States on your jersey it means something different. But as bummed
as I am about that I'm even more bummed about softball, because I've got
two young girls, 11 and 8 who play softball; they love the game. And
that's what they look to, that's what they aspire to is that Olympic
softball team. Those are their heroes. And to see that, you know, rug
pulled out. I'm really bummed out about it.

RT: It might have helped them that they actually lost the Gold Medal
game that might help them get back into the Olympics, because part of
the thinking was the U.S. domination in softball was one of the reasons
why they felt it wasn't competitive enough to stay in the Olympics. But
let's turn back to you; stop talking about the other people. (Laughter)

> Let's talk about you. Of course you come out of college as the
> Sullivan Award winners, the top amateur athlete or top collegiate
> athlete in the country and you never pitched a game in the minor
> leagues. You go straight to major league baseball. And oh, yeah, I
> haven't mentioned yet, because I don't think I need to that you don't
> have a right hand. And you become an instant inspiration to so many
> people not just you know baseball fans, because I grew up as a fan of
> yours, I'll lay that out there right now, not only to lefties, because
> I'm a lefty too, but to people with disabilities to show that because
> you have a disability doesn't mean that you can't compete or you can't
> achieve to the highest levels. And now you're a proponent of that,
> that's your life's work now.

JA: Yeah, you know, I was born missing my right hand. I never wanted to
make a big deal of it. I had tremendous parents. My mom and dad are my
heroes. They raised me almost to feel like the way I was born was a
privilege and it was something to be lived up to. And the focus should
be on what I was given in my left. You know, I had a lot of talent and
the only obligation was to make the most of that talent.

> And so I'll always be thankful to my mom and dad, to the people in my
> hometown, the great town of Flint, Michigan. You don't hear that very
> much, I know. But it was a great town.

RT: Remember Michael Moore, right?

JA: Right. We have a few famous alumni. But it was a great town. People
were incredibly generous. And every time, and I mean this, I fell down
there was someone there to pick me up.

MS: I needed to dove tail off of what Russ was saying, I mean, not just
an inspiration to people with disabilities, I get inspiration for
anybody. You look at what you were doing on the mound and with your
life, what you did is it said you know what that inspires me to try and
reach harder no matter what I'm doing in my life, you know, and the
achievements, the Gold Medal, winning, pitching a perfect, a no hitter
rather. I mean, it's just, the sense of accomplishment you must have
with that. I mean, what rests highest for you when you kind of go back
to the mental rolodex.

JA: Well, the Olympics were tremendous. That was the greatest team
accomplishment I felt like I ever had, to pitch a no hitter in Yankee
stadium is something you take with you, you start a game, it starts like
any other and all of a sudden it's something you're known for, you know,
people ask you wherever you go. But I'm involved now with a project that
maybe more important than any of that; I'm working with the Department
of Labor, the U.S. Department of Labor, in particular, their Office of
Disability Employment, you know, trying to spread that same spirit that
I was given, you know, people who saw me for the talent that I had.

> And this is such a great program; they're out there working with you
> know trying to create awareness in the business world and with
> employers to say hey, people with disabilities bring talent to the
> table; let's take a look beyond what they don't have, let's look what
> they do have. So I'm incredibly proud of that.

MS: Absolutely.

RT: How does the program work? I mean, what specifically are you doing?

JA: Well, I'm serving as a little bit of a spokesman. I had a chance to
fly to Washington, meet with ODEP as they're called, a lot of acronyms
here in Washington. (Laughter) But I was blown away by this meeting,
because many of the people who work in this department, it's its own
specific department of the Department of Labor and they have many
challenges themselves; a lot of them have disabilities.

But they're a dynamic group and they are so fired up about bringing
opportunities to people in the work place, people you know who face the
barriers of limitations, who face these misperceptions of what they
can't do. So I'm just helping to say let's try to take a look at people
the way my coaches, the way my parents looked at me of why not, you
know, what can you do. So it's the thrill of a lifetime. I really am
probably one of the most you know honored things that I've done yet.

RT: Yeah, and the program, the campaign is called Pitch. It's Providing
Individuals with Talent Can Help. And it's interesting it comes through
sports, sports is such a meritocracy if you're a high school quarterback
and a pitcher. If you couldn't pitch, two hands, one hand, no hands you
wouldn't have been up there. But it was the opportunity I think that was
even bigger than the fact that you could pitch; it was coaches seeing
you as a pitcher instead of someone with a disability. Is it as much for
opening the eyes of people without disabilities to say look you should
cast your net as wide as possible, because there's talent out there you
might not be looking at?

JA: Well, it's to cast a very wide net. I mean, there's a website people
can go to, ability.dol.gov. And it's for parents with kids with
disabilities. It's for employers and business people looking for hey,
maybe I want to give somebody a chance, you know, let me see what
somebody with a little different perspective can bring to my office and
my work place. And it's for people who, two thirds of the people with
handicaps or disabilities in the United States don't work, you know,
people who want to work, people who can work.

> And when I was given that number I was staggered, you know, like wow,
> how can this be? So anything I can do to help raise attention to that,
> anything I can do to help again raise this, you know, this same sort
> of spirit that I was brought up with in Flint, Michigan, you know, I'm
> happy to do that.

RT: I'm curious Jim just ... growing up were there any obstacles place
in your path, do you remember a coach who might have said to you what
are you crazy, I mean, I'm not going to let him pitch or I'm not going
to let him pick up a bat. Did that ever happen to you? Do you remember
anything like that every happening?

JA: Yeah. Well, there were a few.

RT: Yeah?

JA: Here and there. I mean, kids can be cruel, your hand looks like a
foot or a Little League team bunting several times in a row to see if I
could field it. I'd like to say that I threw every one of those girls
out. (Laughter)

RT: They weren't girls we know better.

JA: But I go back to, and I know there were people who said negative
things and we all have to battle those kinds of perceptions. But for the
most part, again, you know, I played high school football and it was
only because ...

MS: In Michigan.

JA: And a good team. And it was only because of the generosity of a head
coach who called me up and said get down here, you're playing. We hear
you have a good arm and we'll figure out how to take the snap, we'll
figure out how to hand the ball off to the running back to the left, as
long as you get the ball down the field.

RT: How did you hand the ball off to the right? Now I'm trying to think
did you do it like this? Did you turn your hand over?

JA: No, I would hand the ball off like this with my hand between the
ball and runner, but I would kind of grab the end of it so it wouldn't
be all the way in there and just kind of pull my hand out and they'd
take it and go. I'm proud to say I didn't start many games, but I didn't
cause any fumbles.

MS: That's tremendous.

RT: Another thing that a lot of people may not realize because you spent
most of your career in the American League you did finish up in the
National League and you had to hit. And you had a couple hits and I
believe (unint.) is quoted as saying that in batting practice you could
hit home runs, like during batting practice. I don't know if that's true
or not, but I mean, that's what I read.

JA: It wasn't batting practice it was in the back field of Yankee spring
training, Ron Giddering (ph.) was pitching and I took him deep.
(Laughter)

RT: You took Louisiana Lightening deep.

JA: Louisiana Lightening. I love Ron Giddering he's been so kind to me
over the years. I know he would get a laugh out of hearing that. But I
love that he had, you know us pitchers we go on and on about our ability
to hit and not always can back it up.

MS: You have to take the long ball man.

JA: I wouldn't know that, but ... (Laughter)

RT: That's because you're a pitcher.

JA: That's right.

RT: That's just fine. You've got two little girls so somebody's digging
you.

JA: I hope so anyway, right?

RT: Tell us that e-mail address one more time.

JA: It's [www.ability.dol.gov](http://www.ability.dol.gov/). And
terrific resource for you know people looking for opportunities in the
work place.

RT: Alright, Jim Abbott. Great major league pitcher, Olympian and great
amateur athlete in his own right and now a great ambassador for people
with disabilities. Jim, it was great to have you on the show.

JA: My pleasure.

RT: Thanks so much for coming on.

JA: Thank you so much.

RT: We've got much more to get to here on Washington Post Live in just a
little ...

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