How to Play Baseball With One Hand

By Jim Abbott

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I was born without my right hand. I have never felt slighted. As a kid I was pretty coordinated and growing up I loved sports. I learned to play baseball like most kids, playing catch with my Dad in the front yard. The only difference was that we had to come up with a method to throw and catch with the same hand. What we came up with, is basically what I continued to do my whole life.

I receive letters all the time asking me to describe how to switch the glove from one hand to the other, in order to play baseball with just one hand. Let me say right off the bat, there is no right way or wrong way. I learned to switch the glove off and on with my Dad when I was 4 years old and gradually made adjustments. Everybody has different circumstances so it takes a little creative thinking and adjustability. Try everything, find what seems most natural to you. Once you think you've developed a method, just keep practicing and practicing and practicing some more, until switching the glove off and on becomes second nature, almost like tying your shoes.

I used to throw balls against the side of my family's house pretending to be my favorite pitchers. When the balls bounced off the wall I had to get my glove on incredibly fast if I didn't want to chase those balls down the street all day! I would recommend a rubber coated ball for this method!

As for holding a bat and hitting, it is a very similar process of finding what is the most natural motion for you. I always went with the method that felt the most comfortable to me. For example some people said I should have hit right handed, well, left handed just seemed more of a natural fit to me. I always wanted to incorporate both arms as best I could. This way felt more balanced to me and more powerful. So I stuck with it. (I did get 2 hits in the majors, although I won't mention my average!)

It is unquestionably a process of trial and error. Whatever you do though, don't give up. Don't let anyone discourage you from believing what you can accomplish. I have been so fortunate to meet so many kids, all over the country, who devised ways of playing baseball that you wouldn't imagine! They were just so determined to play and they loved the game so much they came up with their own methods to help them do it well. In the end, I guess that's my best advice to you - find what it is in life that you love and go after it with all of your heart. I promise, if you have that passion, you will find a way to do what needs to be done. There is nothing that can hold you back!

I wish you the very best,

Sincerely,

Jim Abbott

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For more on Jim Abbott, one handed baseball pitcher, and other motivational moments for those with a hand problem, see these sites
http://www.jimabbott.info
Lilly Walters, 909-398-1228, Lilly@jimabbott.info