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When Abbott was still in grade school, one opposing coach ordered his batter to bunt, forcing Abbott to field the ball. Abbott pitched with his glove resting on his right hand. After he released the ball, he slipped his left hand into the glove, fielded the ball, then performed a nifty maneuver where he’d stick the glove under his right arm, let the ball fall into his left hand, and throw it to first base. “I don’t ever remember it being something I had to master,” he says. “It was just something I did.” He made the play as smoothly as a magician pulling a nickel out of your ear. One down. Thinking it was a fluke, the coach ordered the next batter to bunt—and the next. Finally, after six batters had bunted, and Abbott threw all six out and the coach called off the experiment—making the coach the only embarrassed person in the park.
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Jim Abbott at Michigan and beyond | Michigan Today
Famed one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott is having his number retired by the UMich Wolverines.
