Glew: Blue Jays drafted inspirational Abbott 41 years ago today

June 3, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

When Jim Abbott was drafted in the 36th round by the Toronto Blue Jays 41 years ago today, the then 17-year-old left-hander called it “the thrill of a lifetime.”

“It’s a great honour to be picked by a tremendous team like the Blue Jays,” Abbott told the Toronto Star. “I’ll have to give it a lot of thought.”

Born with one hand, the inspirational Abbott also had a baseball scholarship offer on the table from the University of Michigan.

On scout Don Welke’s recommendation, the Blue Jays chose Abbott in the June Amateur draft after the 6-foot-4, 180-pound southpaw’s dominant season at Central High School in Flint, Mich., in which he allowed just 16 hits and struck out 148 batters in 73 1/3 innings. Thanks largely to his 90-mph fastball, Abbott finished with a 10-3 record, a 0.75 ERA and threw four no-hitters.

And he was also a threat at the plate, batting .427 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs.

“Other people learn to do things with two hands,” Abbott told the Toronto Star in June 1985. “I just learned to do the same things with one hand. It’s nothing special.”

But it was special.

All you had to do was ask the increasing number of disabled children who were inspired by him and started going to his high school games and writing him letters.

“I think I can relate to them and they can relate to me a little differently than other people,” Abbott told the Chicago Tribune in June 1985. “It’s hard for them to understand, but you really don’t look at it like a handicap. You don’t think to yourself, ‘How can I do this with my hand?’ You think, ‘Why can’t I do this?’”

If there were any doubts about Abbott’s all-around athleticism, he was also the quarterback of his high school football team.

“In my 13 years of high school coaching, he’s the best all-around athlete in baseball I’ve ever seen,” Bob Holec, Abbott’s high school coach told the Toronto Star. “His greatest attribute is that where most people think of the disability, he makes you aware of his ability.

“He’s got a strong, outstanding arm and he’s the fiercest competitor I’ve ever coached in baseball . . . He’s changed baseball in this city. Because of him we’ve got 1,500 to 2,000 people to high school tournaments. He just handles it with total class.”

Welke, the Blue Jays scout, clearly liked what he saw in Abbott.

“He has a major league fastball – sometimes – and a major league heart,” Welke told the Chicago Tribune in June 1985.

But though flattered by the Blue Jays’ faith in him, Abbott told the Toronto Star he was leaning towards going to the University of Michigan, which he ultimately did.

When he arrived on campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., he once again had his doubters. They weren’t convinced he could get NCAA Division 1 hitters out, but he quickly proved them wrong.

In his first season with the Wolverines, he went 6-2 with a 4.11 ERA in 14 games (10 starts). He followed that up by going 11-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 15 starts in his sophomore campaign and won the Golden Spikes Award, handed out annually to the top amateur baseball player in the U.S.

In his last college campaign, he finished with a 9-3 record and a 3.32 ERA in 17 games (16 starts).

Following that season, he opted to forego his senior year and pursue a professional career.

In June 1988, the California Angels chose him in the first round (eighth overall) of the MLB draft.

From there, he proceeded to enjoy a 10-season big league career. He spent his first four campaigns with the Angels before throwing a no-hitter for the New York Yankees on September 4, 1993.

He finished his MLB career with short tenures with the Chicago White Sox in 1998 and Milwaukee Brewers in 1999.

Abbott never did pitch for the Blue Jays, but he did have stints with the triple-A Vancouver Canadians (1996) and Calgary Cannons (1998).

And it’s safe to say that 41 years after he was drafted by the Blue Jays, Abbott continues to be an inspiration to people in Toronto and all around the world.