Jim Abbott grew up in Flint, Michigan, born without a right hand. He became a left-handed pitcher anyway. People could have told him a thousand reasons he’d never make it to the big leagues. On September 4, 1993, pitching for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Abbott threw a no-hitter against Cleveland, winning 4-0. He walked five, struck out three, and got 17 outs on ground balls. “A guy, growing up in Flint, Michigan, to this?” he said later. That afternoon nobody in the stadium was thinking about what he was missing.
