September 4, 1993: Jim Abbott Pitches a No-Hitter -- With One Hand

September 4, 1993, 30 years ago: The New York Yankees host the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are in a tight race for the American League Eastern Division title with the Toronto Blue Jays, the defending World Champions, who lead them by 2 games.

Jim Abbott was the Yankees' starting pitcher. That he was in the major leagues at all was stunning: He was born on September 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan -- with only one hand. His right hand was a stub with 2 small vestigial fingers on it.

"As a kid, I really wanted to fit in," Abbott said. "Sports became a way for me to gain acceptance. I think this fueled my desire to succeed. I truly believe that difficult times and disappointments can push us to find abilities and strengths we wouldn't know existed without the experience of struggle."

When preparing to pitch the ball, Abbott would rest his glove on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his left hand into the glove, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would secure the glove between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the glove, and remove the ball from the glove, usually in time to throw out the runner at first or sometimes even start a double play.

At all levels, teams tried to exploit his fielding disadvantage by repeatedly bunting to him. But he had become so skillful at the glove switch that bunting usually didn't work any more than it did on any other pitcher.

Batting was not an issue for Abbott for the majority of his career, since the American League uses the designated hitter. But in a Spring Training game in 1991, he hit a triple off Rick Reuschel.

But he had to get there first. At Flint Central High School -- which also produced sprinter and Oakland Athletics "designated runner" Herb Washington, and former U.S. Senator Don Riegle -- he not only pitched, but played quarterback on the football team. In 1985, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, but chose to go to the University of Michigan instead.

This turned out to be a good move: He helped the Wolverines win 2 Big 10 titles, and in 1987 became the 1st baseball player to win the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in America. He also won the Golden Spikes Award, 1 of 2 player of the year awards in college baseball. (The other, generally considered to be baseball's "Heisman Trophy," is the Dick Howser Trophy, named for the Florida State legend and former Yankee shortstop, coach and manager, who led the Kansas City Royals to win the 1985 World Series.) Baseball was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and Abbott won the Gold Medal game. Michigan elected him to their Athletic Hall of Fame, and retired his Number 31.

In 1988, his draft status having lapsed because of his time in college, he was drafted again, by the California Angels. In 1989, he made the team out of Spring Training without playing a single minor-league game, and went 12-12. In 1991, despite the Angels finishing at .500 at 81-81, he went 18-11, and finished 3rd in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award.

After the 1992 season, the Angels traded him to the Yankees, for 1st baseman J.T. Snow, and pitchers Russ Springer and Jerry Nielsen. The pitchers never really made it, but Snow, not needed in New York because of Don Mattingly, became an All-Star. In contrast, going into September 4, 1993, Abbott was just 9-11. The Yankees needed a better performance from him if they were going to make the Playoffs.

He began this game by walking Kenny Lofton, but got Félix Fermín to ground into a double play. He walked Randy Milligan in the 2nd, but stranded him. Mike Gallego led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk off Bob Milacki, was singled to 2nd by Wade Boggs, and was singled home by Dion James. There were 2 bad throws on the play, and Boggs and James were also able to score. The Yankees led, 3-0.

Abbott walked Milligan again to start the 5th, but got another double play, this one grounded into by future Boston Red Sox slugger and Yankee nemesis Manny Ramírez. Randy Velarde hit a home run in the bottom of the 5th, to extend the Yankees' lead to 4-0. Abbott walked Junior Ortiz in the 6th, and Jim Thome in the 8th, but stranded both of them.

The tension was building. Abbott, whose very presence in the major leagues had made a little history, was 3 outs away from making the story even better: Pitching a no-hitter is one of those achievements that is said to allow a player to "achieve baseball immortality." And the Yankees needed the win, and, with the lineup that the Indians were building, which would win 6 Division titles, including 2 Pennants, over the next 8 years, and the short porch in right field at the old Yankee Stadium, a 4-run lead with 3 outs to go was not completely safe.

Abbott got Lofton to ground to 2nd. He got Fermín to fly to center. And he got the dangerous Carlos Baerga to ground to short. Velarde threw to Mattingly, and the game was over: The Yankees had the win, and Abbott had the no-hitter.

WABC-Channel 7's Eyewitness News went with

"Hey, Abbott!" which was Lou Costello's greeting

for comedy partner Bud Abbott.

The Daily News went with a play on "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

The Blue Jays lost, 4-2 to the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium. (The home team is now named the Los Angeles Angels, and the stadium is now known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim.) Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4, but it wasn't enough for the Jays. So the Yankees closed to within 1 game. The next day, again, the Yankees won and the Jays lost, so there was a tie for 1st, at 78-60.

However, the Yankees tailed off, going 10-14 down the stretch, including losing 2 of 3 to the Jays in Toronto, and the Jays ended up winning the Division by 7 games, before going on to repeat as World Champions. Abbott finished at 11-14 with a 4.37 ERA. This was the last completed season before Major League Baseball began a new setup of 3 Division plus a Wild Card Playoff team in each League, so the Yankees were out of luck -- this time.

But the 1993 season was a turning point: After 4 straight bad seasons, the rebuilding effort had begun to pay off. The Yankees led the AL East by 6 1/2 games when the Strike of '94 hit, won the AL Wild Card in '95, and started a new dynasty in '96.

Jim Abbott would not be a part of it, however: A free agent after the 1994 season, he signed with the Chicago White Sox, who soon traded him back to the Angels. He was released in Spring Training in 1997, but was re-signed by the White Sox in 1998. In 1999, he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers, so he had to bat for the 1st time in a regular-season game. In 21 at-bats, he had 2 hits, both for RBIs, and both off Jon Lieber of the Chicago Cubs, although not in the same game.

After the season, Abbott retired with an 87-108 record, a 4.25 ERA, and a 1.433 WHIP. If all you knew were those stats, and the no-hitter, you might say he was an ordinary pitcher who had one extraordinary day. But because of what he had to overcome, every day that he pitched was an extraordinary day.

The 12 New York Yankees to Have Pitched a No-Hitter, In Perspective

Left to right: Joe Girardi, David Cone, Don Larsen,

Yogi Berra, David Cone and Jorge Posada.

The following 12 pitchers have pitched a no-hitter while playing for the New York Yankees:

1. George Anthony Mogridge, Rochester, New York, 1889-1962, lefthanded, pitching in the era before uniform numbers were worn, with Les Nunamaker as his catcher, against the Boston Red Sox, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the Yankees winning, 2-1, on April 24, 1917. He walked 3 batters, and the Yankees made 3 errors behind him.

He pitched in the era before there was an All-Star Game. He appeared in 1 postseason, but after leaving the Yankees, winning the 1924 World Series with the Washington Senators.

2. Samuel Pond Jones, "Sad Sam," Woodsfield, Ohio, 1892-1966, righthanded, pre-number, with Fred "Bootnose" Hofmann catching, against the Philadelphia Athletics, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Yankees winning, 2-0, on September 4, 1923. He didn't strike any batters out, walked 1, and the Yankees made an error behind him.

He pitched in the era before there was an All-Star Game. He had won the 1916 and 1918 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, won with the Yankees in 1923, and lost with the Yankees in 1922 and 1926.

In 1959, another pitcher named Sam Jones, with the Chicago Cubs, became the 1st black pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the major leagues.

3. Montgomery Marcellus Pearson, "Monte," Fresno, California, 1908-1978, righthanded, Number 16, with Joe Glenn (not Bill Dickey) catching, against the Cleveland Indians, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, in the 2nd game of a doubleheader, the Yankees winning, 13-0, on August 27, 1938. He walked 2 batters.

Monte Pearson appeared in 2 All-Star Games, and was a member of the Yankees' 4 straight World Series wins from 1936 to 1939.

He pitched the 1st no-hitter at the original Yankee Stadium. is the only native of Fresno, California to pitch a no-hitter for a New York team. Tom Seaver was from Fresno, but, of course, pitched his only career no-hitter with the Cincinnati Reds, not the Mets.

4. Allie Pierce Reynolds, "the Superchief," Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1917-1994, righthanded, Number 22, with Yogi Berra catching, against the Cleveland Indians, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the Yankees winning, 1-0, on July 12, 1951. He walked 3 batters, and the Yankees made an error.

Reynolds became the 2nd pitcher, of whom there are now 6, to throw 2 no-hitters in 1 season: Again with Yogi Berra catching, it was against the Boston Red Sox, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 8-0, in the 1st game of a doubleheader, on September 28, 1951. He walked 4 batters, and the Yankees made an error. In the 2nd game of the doubleheader, they clinched the Pennant.

Reynolds pitched in 6 All-Star Games, and won the World Series with the Yankees in 1947, and then with their 5 straight World Champions of 1949 to 1953. The Yankees honored him with a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium -- so far, the only one of these so honored.

Charles "Chief" Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a no-hitter in 1910, so Reynolds was the 2nd Native American pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the major leagues.

5. Don James Larsen, "Gooney Bird," San Diego, California, 1929-2020, righthanded, Number 18, with Yogi Berra catching, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, in Game 5 of the World Series, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 2-0, on October 8, 1956.

It was the 1st no-hitter in postseason history, and while it is no longer the only one, or even the only one in World Series history, it remains the only perfect game in postseason history. Or, as Yogi put it, as only he could, "It's never been done before, and it still hasn't."

Larsen won the 1956 and 1958 World Series with the Yankees, losing in 1955 and 1957, and also lost to the Yankees with the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series.

6. David Allan Righetti, "Rags," San Jose, California, born in 1958, lefthanded, Number 19, with Butch Wynegar catching, against the Boston Red Sox, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 4-0, on July 4, 1983. He walked 4 batters.

Dave Righetti had been the 1981 American League Rookie of the Year, and had just been selected for the 1st of what would be 2 All-Star Games. But, by starting him in this game, manager Billy Martin ensured that Righetti wouldn't be able to pitch in the All-Star Game. It was a very hot day, but he finished the game in improbable fashion, by striking out Wade Boggs, one of the best contact hitters of all time.

Righetti had been with the Yankees when they lost the 1981 World Series, then was converted to a reliever in 1984. In 1986, he saved 46 games, a record at the time. He later served as the pitching coach on the San Francisco Giants teams that won the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series.

George "Hooks" Wiltse of the 1908 New York Giants and George Mullin of the 1912 Detroit Tigers also pitched no-hitters on the 4th of July. In Righetti's case, it was also the birthday of his boss, Yankees team owner George Steinbrenner.

7. James Anthony Abbott, "Jim," Flint, Michigan, born in 1967, lefthanded -- he was born without a right hand -- Number 25, with Matt Nokes catching, against the Cleveland Indians, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 4-0, on September 4, 1993. He walked 5 batters.

When Jim Abbott arrived in the major leagues, in 1989, with the team then named the California Angels, it was one of the most inspirational stories in baseball history. His closest call with the postseason was after leaving the Yankees, going back to the Angels, when they lost a Playoff for the American League Western Division title in 1995.

8. Dwight Eugene Gooden, "Doctor K" or just "Doc," Tampa, Florida, born in 1964, righthanded, Number 11, with Joe Girardi catching, against the Seattle Mariners, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 2-0, on May 14, 1996. It was the least "perfect" Yankee no-hitter, with 6 walks and an error.

Doc had been the great hope of New York Mets fans, winning the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1984 and its Cy Young Award in 1985, but by the time they won the 1986 World Series, he was already beginning to descend into cocaine addiction. He eventually appeared in 4 All-Star Games, before a combination of drugs and a rotator cuff injury led the Mets to let him go after he was suspended for the entire 1995 season.

George Steinbrenner, always a sucker for a redemption story, and also always there for getting one over on the Mets, signed him. It worked, and he helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series, was traded, was reacquired, and helped them win the 2000 World Series.

9. David Lee Wells, "Boomer," San Diego, California, born in 1963, lefthanded, Number 33, with Jorge Posada catching, against the Minnesota Twins, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 4-0, on May 17, 1998. It was a perfect game, although he claimed that he was hungover while he pitched it.

Wells appeared in 3 All-Star Games, won the 1992 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, lost the 1996 AL Championship Series to the Yankees with the Baltimore Orioles, won the 1998 World Series with the Yankees, lost the 2003 World Series with the Yankees, and also reached the postseason with the 2005 Red Sox and in 2006 with his hometown San Diego Padres.

He and Larsen both graduated from Point Loma High School, both were known for their hard-partying ways, and both pitched perfect games for the Yankees.

10. David Brian Cone, "Coney," Kansas City, Missouri, born in 1963, righthanded, Number 36, with Joe Girardi catching, against the Montreal Expos, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 6-0, on July 18, 1999. It was a perfect game.

The Yankees held Yogi Berra Day, and Larsen threw a ceremonial first pitch that Yogi caught. It was a terribly hot day, hotter even than for Righetti's no-hitter. Cone managed to finish the job, though. It was the 1st no-hitter ever pitched in an Interleague game. It was also, along with Gooden's, one of many no-hitters to have been pitched by a former Met before Johan Santana's dubious achievement of 2012.

A 5-time All-Star, Cone won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award with the Kanas City Royals. He arrived too late to appear with the Mets in the 1986 World Series, but was a member of their 1988 NL Eastern Division Champions. He won the World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992; and with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

When the old Yankee Stadium was closed on September 21, 2008, a photo was taken on the mound, with the 3 perfect game pitchers and their catchers, as seen above.

11. Corey Scott Kluber, "Klubot," Coppell, Texas, born in 1986, righthanded, Number 28, with Kyle Higashioka catching, against the Texas Rangers, at Globe Life Field, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, the Yankees winning, 2-0, on May 19, 2021. The only baserunner he allowed was a walk of Charlie Culberson with 1 out in the 3rd inning.

The Rangers represent the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex," which includes Coppell, so Kluber is the only Yankee ever to pitch a no-hitter in his home region. Due to his injuries, the Yankees let him go after the season, making him the Yankee soonest let go after his no-hitter, beating Wells' record by 2 days. A 3-time All-Star, Kluber won the AL Cy Young Award with the Indians in 2014 and 2017.

12. Domingo Germán (no middle name, unusual for a Hispanic person), San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, born in 1992, righthanded, Number 0 (formerly 55), with Kyle Higashioka catching, against the Oakland Athletics, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Yankees winning, 11-0, on June 28, 2023.

Higgy thus joined Yogi and Girardi as the only catchers to catch 2 Yankee no-hitters. Yogi lived to see Girardi do it, and he could have said, "I don't mind the company, especially when there's somebody else who did it."

Career wins: Wells 239, Jones 229, Gooden 194, Cone 194, Reynolds 182, Mogridge 132, Kluber 116, Pearson 100, Abbott 87, Righetti 82 (plus 252 saves), Larsen 81, Germán 31. Kluber and Germán are still active.

Wins with the Yankees: Reynolds 131, Righetti 74 (with 224 saves), Wells 68, Jones 67, Cone 64 (81 with the Mets), Pearson 63, Mogridge 48, Larsen 45, Germán 31, Gooden 24 (157 with the Mets), Abbott 20, Kluber 5.

Righetti, Abbott, Gooden, Wells, Cone, and the still-active Kluber and Germán are still alive.