On September 4, 1993, Jim Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians and threw a no-hitter, walking five, striking out three, and needing 119 pitches to finish it. He did it despite being born without a right hand. Six days earlier, that same Indians lineup had rocked him for seven runs in less than four innings. Baseball doesn't usually hand out redemption arcs that fast, but on this particular Saturday, it did.
The Setup
Abbott arrived in pinstripes via a December 6, 1992, trade that sent J.T. Snow, Jerry Nielsen, and Russ Springer to the Angels. Gene Michael liked the fit -- a lefty with a 2.83 ERA across 1991-92, pitching in front of Yankee Stadium's short porch. (Snow went on to win six Gold Gloves at first base for San Francisco, which reads a little rough in hindsight, but Michael wasn't shopping for a glove man. He was shopping for a left arm that could miss Yankee Stadium's short porch.) The first year in New York hadn't gone that way. Abbott carried a 4.31 ERA into September, and his most recent start, on August 29 in Cleveland, was a disaster: 3.2 innings, 10 hits, 7 earned runs.
The 1993 Yankees weren't a bad team -- they'd finish 88-74, their first winning season since 1988 -- but they weren't a great one either, and by September they were fading out of a race with Toronto they'd never quite catch. No Wild Card existed yet. Second place got you a handshake and a long winter. This game landed in the middle of all that, not before it or after it. Nobody watching expected history.
The Game
Abbott walked leadoff man Kenny Lofton in the first inning, which felt like an omen given what happened six days earlier. It wasn't. The Yankees scored three in the third and Randy Velarde added a solo homer in the fifth, and Abbott just kept getting outs -- 17 of them on the ground, working off a defense that had to earn every zero on the board. (This wasn't even his closest brush with history that year. Back in May, he'd carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against the White Sox before Bo Jackson broke it up. He knew what it felt like to get close and lose it.)
The defensive play of the game came in the seventh. Albert Belle hit a hard grounder into the hole at third, the kind that's a hit against most infielders. Wade Boggs dove to his right, snared it, popped up, and threw a strike to first to get Belle by a step. (Boggs made a career out of turning routine at-bats into art -- turns out the glove work held up too.)
The ninth inning was its own kind of tension. Lofton led off and squared to bunt, trying to make the one-handed pitcher field a comebacker. He fouled it off, got booed loudly for the attempt, and grounded out to second anyway. Felix Fermin worked a 2-2 count and hit a long fly ball that Bernie Williams, playing him shallow, had to run down at the warning track. Then Carlos Baerga -- 5-for-26 against Abbott to that point -- swung at the first pitch and grounded to shortstop Randy Velarde, who threw across to Don Mattingly at first. No-hitter. First one by a Yankee since Dave Righetti in 1983.
What It Meant
"How does it all happen? A guy, growing up in Flint, Michigan, to this? For a tiny second, you're outside yourself," Abbott said afterward. Mattingly, who caught the final throw, put it simply: "I had these huge goose bumps on my forearms, and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. But I think because it was Jim there was a little something extra."
Abbott never pitched a single minor-league inning -- the Angels drafted him eighth overall in 1988 and sent him straight to the rotation. He'd developed what people came to call the Abbott Switch: rest the glove on his right wrist through the delivery, then slide his bare hand into it the instant the ball left, ready to field. He'd drilled the transfer for years before anyone in a big-league lineup ever tested it. On this Saturday, nobody managed to.
Abbott finished 1993 at 11-14 with a 4.37 ERA -- an uneven year by the numbers, with one afternoon that had nothing to do with the numbers at all.
| Date | September 4, 1993 |
| Score | Yankees 4, Indians 0 |
| Location | Yankee Stadium |
| Attendance | 27,125 |
| Pitches | 119 |
| Walks / Strikeouts | 5 / 3 |
| Final Out | Carlos Baerga, groundout (SS Velarde to 1B Mattingly) |
| Previous Yankees No-Hitter | Dave Righetti, July 4, 1983 |
Abbott Traded to New York
The Angels send Jim Abbott to the Yankees for J.T. Snow, Jerry Nielsen, and Russ Springer. Gene Michael bets on the short porch fitting Abbott's stuff.
Rocked in Cleveland
Abbott faces the Indians and lasts 3.2 innings, allowing 7 earned runs on 10 hits. His ERA climbs to 4.31.
Boggs Saves It
Wade Boggs dives to his right on a hard Albert Belle grounder and throws Belle out at first, preserving the no-hit bid.
Three Outs to Go
Lofton fouls off a bunt attempt and grounds out. Fermin flies out to the warning track. Baerga grounds to short for the final out.
First Yankees No-Hitter Since 1983
Abbott completes the no-hitter, the franchise's first since Dave Righetti's on July 4, 1983.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Jim Abbott throw his no-hitter for the Yankees?
Abbott no-hit the Cleveland Indians on September 4, 1993, at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won 4-0 in front of 27,125 fans. It was the franchise's first no-hitter since Dave Righetti's in 1983.
Who made the final out of Jim Abbott's no-hitter?
Carlos Baerga grounded out to shortstop Randy Velarde, who threw to Don Mattingly at first base for the final out. Abbott finished with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts over 119 pitches.
How did Jim Abbott pitch in the majors despite being born without a right hand?
Abbott used a technique known as the Abbott Switch. He rested his glove on top of his right wrist during his delivery, then slid his throwing hand into the glove the instant he released the ball, allowing him to field balls hit back at him before removing the glove and transferring the ball to throw.
Did Jim Abbott struggle before his no-hitter?
Yes. Six days before the no-hitter, on August 29, 1993, the same Cleveland lineup had scored 7 earned runs off Abbott in just 3.2 innings. He carried a 4.31 ERA into the September 4 start.