Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to another episode of Sokaw with Val, where we
explore the stories, the places, and definitely today the people
that make Southern California really shine today. I am deeply
honored to welcome a true legend, not just in baseball,
but in life. Jim Abbott is one of the most
(00:41):
remarkable athletes of our time. He didn't just overcome the odds,
he redefined them, from throwing a no hitter with the
New York Yankees to winning Olympic gold to standing tall
on major leagues mounds across the country. His story is
one of heart, of grit and unshakable belief in what's possible,
(01:05):
all of these many accomplishments, by the way without a
right hand. And now, as we prepare to watch his documentary,
Southpaw is brand new ESPN documentary premiering on July thirteenth,
which is coming up in just a few days. We
are so privileged to get to sit down with the man,
(01:25):
the legend, and that have a real, very personal conversation.
We're going to talk about mindset, resilience and what legacy
really means and whether you're a baseball fan or you're
just someone who's looking for a little bit of hope
or loves a great story. That's what you'll hear today.
So roll up your windows if you're driving, turn up
(01:45):
the volume and let's get started. Lean in close and
welcome me as I welcome the one and only Jim
Abbott to so Cow without Jim, thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Thank you. That was such a nice introduction. I'm very
honored and I'm looking forward to our discussion today.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
We are too, and I'm excited because this is a
unique opportunity for me, it's certainly for you. I am
not a sports announcer. I'm not ESPN is not likely
to hire me anytime soon. But we know that there
are a lot of people like me who would love
to hear your story and hear from you, and who
(02:29):
can relate to you, and they all have questions and
would love to hear about you. So that's what we
hope to accomplish today. And I wanted to talk a
little bit also about your background before we go on.
Is that you've dedicated your life to motivational speaking. You're
also the author of a book called Imperfect and Improbable Life,
which many of us could probably relate to. And you
(02:51):
now reside between your childhood home of Michigan and different
parts of Michigan maybe and in southern California. And we
know that you still remain a powerful voice in sports
and helping other people, encouraging other people. And we want
to hear a little bit of work about your charity
work as well a little bit about it. So let's
get started about your time in Flint, Michigan you were
(03:16):
growing up. Tell me about your time as a child.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You talk.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I've heard you talk a little bit about your parents
and that you always thought you were kind of normal,
and then I heard the story about the plastic baseball glove.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, you know, there's always that moment in all of
our lives when we find out that we're not normal, right,
well like everybody else. Yeah, you know, I so my story.
You know, maybe if your listeners aren't sports fans, or
even if they are younger sports fans or whatever. I
grew up missing my right hand. I was born that way,
(03:55):
and it's all I ever really knew. So the first
few years of my life, we're we're very we're very
you know. I spent time with my cousins and my friends,
and I learned to do things and and it. You know,
it wasn't until I started kindergarten. I started school, uh,
walking into a classroom and I wore a prosthesis on
(04:19):
my right hand at that time, which was in the
shape of a metal hook. It was clumsy and a
little cumbersome, and it attracted a lot of attention. So
I think that's when I first became aware of my
differences from from the other kids in the classroom. And
you know, from there it became a pretty interesting journey.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And what was it like navigating the playground and the
classroom and then even the locker room with just one
function one hand with fingers, I should say, sure it.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You know, I knew what it was like to be different.
I I was made very aware of that by comments
and second glances and awkwardness, you know, in school, on
a playground, in the hallways. And I don't want let
me just say from the beginning, a lot of people
have it a lot worse than me. I don't want
(05:17):
to overplay the significance of the difference that I had,
you know, and I do think that the wording and
the empathy in our society has truly changed in that time.
From then until now when I was a kid. My
parents were very young when they had me, and they
(05:41):
didn't know what to do. There were information wasn't shared
like it is today, and so they were searching. They
were searching for answers, they were searching for ideas, and
one of these, you know, a doctor had told them
about a prosthesis, and so they sent me to this
hospital in western Michigan, not far from where you grew up,
(06:02):
and it was called it was actually called the you know,
the Crippled Children's Hospital, and it's one of my earliest
memories of being in that in that atmosphere and trying
to learn how to use a prosthesis. So, you know,
I certainly understood what it was like to be off
(06:22):
to the side a little bit. And and honestly, that's
sort of what why sports called to me. I found
my way into acceptance.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Through sports, sure, because you could achieve on your own
whatever you achieved, and you were respected right for whatever
it was you accomplished. In sports.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Sure, yeah, if you know it may I may look
look different in the hallway or in the classroom, but
at recess, when they threw the balls out in the
playground and started tossing them around. You know, I wanted
to fit in and I was lucky to be honest.
If your question was what did I face? I did face.
I knew what it was like to be different. But
(07:05):
overwhelmingly I had great friends and teachers and coaches and
parents and who often believed in me when I didn't
always believe in myself.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
And that's a good thing. And I'd love to hear
the story of learning to tie your shoes? Well, do
you think that story was a story of caring and
compassion as well as just a lesson in what I
mean by that? Did you think so much of what
that person did for you that then inspired you to
help others?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah? You know. My second grade teacher, Don Clarkson, mister
Clarkson was He was the sweetest man, a tall, tall man.
He taught our class. He used to work in NASA
at one point, so he used to bring pictures of
space into our We thought he was the coolest guy
in the world. And you know, I had a problem
(07:58):
with tying my shoes. My pairents used to have to
triple nod at them in the morning and help me,
and they inevitably, because I was active and running around.
They would come on down, of course, and somebody would
have to help me to tie them. And one day,
you know, mister Clarkson showed up at the classroom and
he took me out in the hallway. I thought I
(08:19):
was in trouble for something. And like I said, he
was a big man. He sat down in this small,
little elementary school chair and across from me, and he
undid the laces of his dress shoes and he used
one clenched fist to tie his shoes and he said,
I got it. I know how you can do this.
(08:40):
And you know, at the time, I was just intrigued
as to his method. And it, honestly, it's what I
used to this day. Is it right to tie shoes?
And you know, that day was the beginning of that journey,
and it wasn't you know, obviously I was too young
to appreciate the generosity of that gesture, you know that
(09:01):
he had. I can imagine what his wife must have
been thinking. He went home and he had untied the
laces of his you know, he's working with that at home.
I mean, that's that's just that's really a special generous
thing to do for a student in your classroom.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Yeah, that's an amazing story, in one of those stories
you'll always remember, right, even he made such an impact
in the fact that he took the time and effort
to teach you.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, it sure was.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Being different ever make you feel special? Did you ever
think to yourself, well, I'm special because I'm a little
bit different, and rather than people make me feel bad,
I'm gonna I'm going to remind myself that this makes
me really special. Everybody isn't like me, right, I'm unique.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I can't say that I ever felt that way, to
be honest. How I could relate to that was my parents.
They didn't they didn't dissuade me from from activities. They didn't.
They didn't stop me from encountering failure. And a consistent
message from my dad was, you know, what's been taken
(10:17):
away once will be given back twice. And I think
there's a biblical aspect to that. I can't tell you
what it is, but he, you know, he believed that
in what's been taken away once has been given back twice.
And I think what he was saying is close to
what you're hinting at, that you're up to this challenge.
(10:40):
You were up to this challenge, and while I didn't
feel special, I did start to believe from their encouragement
that I could meet the moment, so to speak.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Was there ever a time when you believed what others
said you couldn't do? People said you can't do something.
Was there ever a time you believed it? Or did
you always think I can do this?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I think if I had one thing that I'm proud
of from my youth is that I believe that I
could do it. I really did, and I don't. I
don't know if that was inherent within me or if
that came from the generosity of people around me who
were so determined to find answers and solutions, But whatever
(11:34):
it was, by the time I started to encounter challenges
that were difficult to solve in changing the glove on
and off of my left hand, or holding a baseball bat,
or tying my shoes, bunning a shirt, tying a tie,
or regular things I didn't involve have missing a hand
(11:56):
or being different. I grew to have a pretty strong
sense of not giving up, like not giving up and
finding an answer. Different I think nuanced from not giving
up in a race or not giving up in a
physical activity. This was not giving up in a way
(12:17):
that their belief that there was an answer that with
enough time and then with enough energy, we were going
to figure it out. So creativity, you know, played a
huge part in my childhood.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
And your dad wanted you to play soccer.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I don't know. Maybe I don't think so. He Their
first and foremost priority was my grades. They were really
into school. They were so young, you know. I give
him a lot of credit. I don't think they had
a manual. I don't think they knew what they were doing,
and they just got tossed into the world with a
(12:56):
child missing a hand. And I marvel at them because
they were very instinctual. They didn't push anything on me,
but they didn't protect me from anything either.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
So you decided you didn't like soccer, And then I
think I read or heard that you also played football.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I did you know? I discovered somewhere along the line.
I think it was second grade. I won the second
grade softball toss contest in our field Day or whatever
it was back in Michigan that they did in the spring,
and at that point it kind of dawned on me
that I had what they call in baseball, good left,
you know, a good arm, and my left arm was
(13:41):
a good one. And I could throw things, and I
could skip rocks, and I could throw a frisbee, and
I could throw a softball or baseball or football. It
was just it was natural to me. So, you know,
anything that involved throwing was exciting, and I was eager
to join.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And so football. But you didn't stick with football. You
always still baseball was your first love.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well, I played everything. I played everything in Michigan, as
we do in the Midwest. You know, you have to
go inside at some point and start playing basketball. And
in the spring you couldn't wait to get your baseball
glove out. And so I did play some casual football.
I didn't really play organized football until my junior year
of high school, when the head coach invited me out.
(14:34):
I wouldn't even say it was invited me told me
I was going to play football, and that's when I played,
you know, organized football with pads and everything for the
first time.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
And was there a specific moment when you realized that
this was what you wanted to do? And I think
was So what was your transition between high school and
major league baseball? You actually was it correct that you
turned down a scholarship to go to stay Are you
you turned down as signing with the team to stay
(15:08):
in college?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
That what happened, Yes, so the way it works in baseball,
and I kept climbing the ladder. I did well in
Little League, and I had I loved major League baseball.
But I can't say that it was a goal, you know,
not that I didn't think I could do it, but
just it seems so far of impossibility. And then I
(15:31):
had a good high school career. I played for a
local club team that was very good, and then I
played at the University of Michigan, which is one of
my proudest affiliations. But I was drafted after my high
my senior year of high school, by the Toronto Blue Jays,
and although I wasn't a high draft pick, you know,
they they were serious with an offer, and I had
(15:54):
I had to weigh the options of either going to
college or signing that contract. And I like to at
my mother with encouraging me to go to school. It
was the best decision she ever made for me. And
I know I need, I needed to grow up, and
I needed to get both physically and mentally and then
I went to Michigan for three years, and then I
(16:14):
signed with the Angels in after my third year of college.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
And when you found you could leave all the snow
and come to southern California, you were sold.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh my gosh. You know my first impression. We had
a guy on our I played baseball at Michigan. We
had a catcher who was from Palace Verdes and he
he came to Michigan and he we the team made
the Rose Bowl that year. So he invited us back
to his house in Palace Vertes. His dad was a
very successful doctor, and so we flew out to California
(16:50):
for our first time, in my first time in the
in the southern California, and we woke up in the
morning in the daylight and looking out over the ocean,
and I saw Catalina Island for the first time, and
I was stunned beyond words. I was like, you can't
nobody's supposed to be able to live like this. This
isn't right. And I don't even remember how that Rose
(17:12):
Bull turned out. I don't remember who we played, but
I remember going home, back to back to Michigan and
actually dreaming dream I had dreams about living in California someday.
And when I finished college and was drafted by the Angels,
that was sort of I was like, Wow, I'm actually
gonna gonna go out there and try to make that
(17:34):
team and live out there, and so it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And then even when you didn't play for the Angels,
you maintained a home here.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah. My wife is from California and we met, and
you know, our home base has always been in the
Newport Beach, Orange County area, and it's just even when
we were playing in Chicago or Milwaukee or New York,
we would always come back home to California.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
And why not? Why not? So you played for the
Angels and then your next team, did you go to
New York next after that?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah? I played for the Angels for four years. I
had some good years and I was doing well there,
but they, you know, we I was traded to the
Yankees for a couple of prospects, and uh, yeah, so
I played the next two years for New York. I
came back to the Angels and played for them, and
(18:36):
I played a little bit with the Chicago White Sox
and the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
So you got to go back to the Midwest a
little while, just to keep you remembering why you wanted
to be in southern California, right.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
You know, honestly, I love the Midwest and I'm here
now in Michigan and I love it. But it's it's
a nice it's nice to have both experiences.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
So we need to talk about your time with the Yankees.
Wouldn't be complete. Our time wouldn't be complete if we
didn't talk about that. So that's where you had your
no hitter game, correct.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
That's where I yes, I did.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
When you were on the mound, At what point do
you realize that that this is going to be your night?
Is there ever a time or is every pitch and
every hit you just never know you're so close? Was
there ever a time that you thought this is going
to be it?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
No, you're on pins and needles the whole game. You know,
I wouldn't even say the whole game. Maybe let's say
from the seventh inning on, when there's three more innings
and nine more outs to go, three outs an inning,
and you know, that's when the countdown begins in your
mind and the fans mind, and your teammate's mind, and
the competition's mind, and that's when the nerves start to
(19:53):
build a little bit. That's when the excitement hits. And
you know, I remember it, remember more about those feelings
and more about sitting in the dugout between innings than
I do about the actual innings themselves, and being out
there on the field just because it was so vivid.
You know what you were feeling and so so out
(20:18):
of the ordinary.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And so were you. How do you quiet the noise?
There's so much noise in the stadium and the noise
in your mind, and feeling the pressure of your teammates
watching you because you are the guy, right, you have
to make this happen. You don't get two chances at
a pitch, right, And so how do you quiet all
(20:45):
that noise and keep your mind so focused that you're
able to achieve these great things?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's a great question, and that's the hardest part. That's
the hardest part that any picture will face, and not
just in the no hitter. But you're not well, it
wasn't the only guy out there. You know. I had
great defense that day, and that's part of it too.
We had great defenders who made a lot of great
plays in the field that kind of saved that no
(21:12):
hitter and allowed me to have this career dream. But
quieting the mind was trust, trust in them that they
would they would be there for me, and that if
I threw, I didn't have to be too I'd have
to strike everybody out. Back then, the game was a
little bit different. You you you could rely on your
(21:32):
fielders a little bit more. It wasn't as much of
a swing and miss strikeout game that the modern game
is now. And the other part of it was trying
to stay in the moment. And I want, I would
love to avoid cliches here, but you have to rely
on them. You know, it's it's one pitch at a time,
and you realize that that's the only thing you have
(21:55):
control of, the only thing and the result. You can
throw a good pitch and have a bad result. That's
part of baseball. So you have to resign yourself to
just being in the moment, in this one pitch, this
next pitch.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And when you're in that moment, is there was there
someone or something that was in the back of your mind.
Would you remember like a mister Clarkson type of situation,
or would you remember a person or as saying or
something that reminded you kept you focused, and that motivated you,
(22:34):
kept your mindset right where it needed to be at
that time.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Two answers to that, there's the exact opposite of having
somebody around, because the superstition in baseball is if you're
doing something well, they quit talking to you. Your teammates,
there's a very superstitious sport, and so they they feared
saying something or doing something that might take away from
(23:01):
the moment. But there was my you know, my catcher
that day. Our catcher that day was a guy named
Matt Noaks, a southern California guy lives in San Diego
now and he was just one of those wonderful, upbeat,
enthusiastic guys. He he put down every sign for a
pitch with enthusiasm and a fist pump and it was
(23:23):
his You know, we really worked together that day. We
had a real camaraderie. We agreed on almost every call
he was I had a couple of moments where things
got dicey and he came out to the mound and
talked to me. So I would put Matt Oaks in
that category of a mister Clarkson for sure.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
And many of us would love to know when someone
comes out and talks to you on the mound, whether
it's your coach or whether it's the catcher, what are
those conversations like, is it simply a motivational talk, like
come on, Jim, we can do this, or is there
something else?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
They vary. It depends on what's going on. Sometimes it
can be very strategic, you know, like who's coming up,
what the plan is, you know, what the pitch should be.
Are we looking to get this guy out or maybe
avoid him and get the next guy he's this guy's
not as dangerous as the next is this guy's more
dangerous than the next guy. Sometimes it's a kick in
(24:22):
the pants, you know, let's go, let's get it together,
wake up. Sometimes it's mechanical, you know, so a lot
of times it can be I think some people think
that those meetings are more raw raw than they are.
Sometimes it's just to settle you down. And we had
a great pitching coach and a wonderful mentor in my
life was I mean they met Marcel Latchman with the
(24:46):
Angels back in the day.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
And.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Oftentimes his trips to the mound were just to calm
you down just to just to recalibrate when he felt
like you have had moved past them, when your mind
was racing, you were trying to do too much. You know,
he was out there just to remind you to bring
it back to who you are.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, I maybe just kind of take a break, right,
break the speed or the moment, just to give you
a chance to recalibrate a little bit. Absolutely so, was
there ever a time in that game when you thought, well,
I guess there would be a time when maybe it
could have gone the other way? Right? So we we
(25:32):
house baseball players in some of our properties, and I
often tell them I think my job has a lot
of pressure. I could not possibly do what you guys do.
You live and die and breathe every single pitch right,
every single play, and you can only do it one time.
You don't get to practice, you don't get to replay it.
(25:53):
How do you deal with all of that pressure?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I think you. I don't think you can allow yourself
to think about extraneous events and circumstances and competition. So
much of it is is belief, So much of it
is knowing what got you to that point, what the
preparation has been, you know, not your whole life, but
(26:21):
also that week what you have done, you know, leading
up to this game and what it takes and you know,
so you know, I play golf. I love to play golf,
and I get up in a golf tournament and they'll
be you know, ten to twelve people around watching or whatever,
and I get very nervous. And people with my friends
(26:44):
will say, why do you know, you know, how can
you be nervous? You pitched in front of fifty thousand
people before it. I said, well, it's an entirely different
skill set. You know. I did that my whole life,
So there was there was a foundation to call upon,
you know, that allowed you to narrow that focus down
in golf, I don't have that much of a foundation
to call upon to give me the confidence to go up,
(27:08):
you know, to do what I need to do on
the course or the tea box.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Sure. Yeah, and probably swinging a club is a little
bit different movement than pitching on the game.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, there's some commonality, but it is different for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Sure. Let's talk about your experience at the Olympics. How
fun was that was it? Is it different? Is it
a different kind of audience. Is it a different experience
do you play for I mean, I'm sure you play
for your country and all those things that go with that,
(27:44):
but how was that experience for you.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It is one of my very very favorite baseball experiences
or sporting experiences. It was back then baseball was a
sport that was only amateur players played, So it was
only college players and only college coaches, and we were
(28:13):
going up against amateur teams Japan, Cuba, Taiwan, you know,
all these different teams that were amateur as well. But
the major league game wasn't as international as it is now,
so a lot of those players, particularly like with Cuba,
you know, they had older players who weren't allowed you know,
(28:35):
they were major league players, but they just weren't allowed
to come to the United States and play. So we
were going up against people a lot older than us
and very skilled. So it was a heck of a
challenge and we had running battles. I played for two years.
I played on the PanAm team the Pan American Games
and my sophomore year, and then I played on the
Olympic team my junior year, and it was a team
(28:59):
that was kind of comprised of the same guys for
two years, so we became extremely close. The travel was difficult,
it was not glamorous. It was not the big leagues.
We traveled on school buses. We carried all of our
own equipment. We went. We played in minor league talents
around the world, you know. We played in Italy and
Japan and Cuba and just just all over. And so
(29:25):
the Olympics were a culmination of basically two full summers
playing together with one goal in mind and getting to
the Olympics and qualifying for the Olympics and then to
try to win. And the Olympic village was amazing, you know,
for baseball players in particular. I turned twenty one in
(29:46):
Soul Korea at the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
So goodness.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
We won't get into that.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
No I was going to ask, but I'll let that go.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
But we had a lot of fun. You know, we
had a lot we were We had each other to
rely on. But I was I pitched the gold medal
game and I was out there in the ninth inning.
You know, I needed three more outs for us to win.
And I've never been so hopeful. I was twenty one
(30:18):
years old. I was nervous, but I wanted it so badly,
as much for myself as for those guys and those
coaches that I loved. And you know, when we got
that final out, Robin Ventura I have These might be
names that your audience isn't familiar with, but he was
our third basement from Oklahoma State. Tino Martinez was across
(30:39):
the diamond when we got that final out. That celebration
on the mound I had, you know, we celebrated like
baseball players do. I had twenty five guys on top
of me, yelling and screaming, and that my face was
in the Korean mud, you know, elbows in my neck
and knees in my ribs. I was crushed. But I'd
never been so happy in my life. And so it
(31:03):
was a culmination, and it was you know, my no
hitter was a surprise. This was being out there on
the ninth inning was a culmination. So I put the
two hand in hand with my favorite memories on the
baseball diamond.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Was it hard than know? After you had this amazing
achievement together, you'd all won this together, and certainly it
sounds like it was together, right, You'd really been together
for a long time and you had to come home,
and unlike your major league team, where you come home,
you come back to your own stadium again, but here
you all went to your own homes and your team
(31:41):
kind of disbursed a little bit. That must have been
a little sad.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
It was sad. I mean, I'll never forget I will
never ever forget that flight from South Korea to Los
Angeles because we only had one night to celebrate in Seoul,
and then we flew across the you know, the world,
basically home, and it was our last game together and
(32:06):
a lot of us were heading off to professional baseball,
and we truly had a bond that was that was
very special. We'd been through a lot together, we felt
a lot of pressure, so there were a lot of hugs,
and I don't you know, to be honest with you, Valerie,
I don't know that any of us knew how special
(32:29):
that was. It is it is so difficult to create
that kind of camaraderie, that singularity of purpose in a
team and have everybody fighting and clawing for the same
result and wanting it so badly, and so looking back
(32:49):
on it, it was bittersweet stepping off that plane and
saying goodbye to everybody.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Oh, I'm sure, because you you must have become like
a band of brothers really.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
In some ways. I mean, we weren't fighting a war
or anything, but.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
No, certainly were we.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
We felt like that. We felt like a band of brothers.
You know, to this day, I see those guys. I
don't see them often, but when I do, there's a
there's a connection that will never be broken.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Yeah, and those kind of experiences, Jim, nobody can live them,
but you right, they only happened one time, right, Like
you're no hitter, the one time experiences and you were
in that place, you know, at that time, and those
were the people you were with, and they're just lifetime experiences,
(33:41):
which obviously pretty special. Was there ever a time when
you thought you'd just give up it was just too
hard or other things? Was there ever a time when
anything seemed more of a shiny object or more interesting
with the ever anything you thought you'd rather do? You
were playing, it was hard and being traded. And is
(34:05):
there ever a time you thought I'll just go do
something else? Was that ever an option for you?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Yeah? I had to grow up, you know, I had
to grow up on a baseball field. And then the
public eye. You know, I had, I think, one of
the interesting stories. And this might be true for everybody,
but I know it was true for me. You know,
I had based so much. I was born missing my
(34:32):
right hand, so I look, I feel like that was
a big part the driving force for my need to
do well. And I pushed and I fought and I worked,
and I was not always the nicest person on a field.
I had an ambition that you might think was a
(34:53):
bit over the top, to be honest with you, but
it worked, you know, it really worked. And then when
I got to the major leagues, I came up against
guys every bit as good as me and better, and
so the fight became different. And then for the first
time in my life, it didn't come easy, you know.
(35:16):
And in the first time in my life, I faced failure,
and I faced disappointment in disappointing coaches, disappointing the people
around me. And so I did, all of a sudden
that success that those feelings on the field were taken
(35:38):
away and I had to make I had to figure
out who I was without that, and I that was very,
very difficult, and at times I did feel I did
question why I was doing it why I was putting
myself through this kind of pain, And it turns out
I feel like it was gross in the end. It
didn't feel like that at the time, but if there
(36:01):
were times when I felt like quitting, it was it
was at that moment when I was you know, I'd
lost eighteen games for the Angels one year and it
was being chronicled in the papers and national news really
about I was the worst pitcher in baseball, and it
was it was very, very difficult to regain my sense
(36:22):
of self esteem.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So I have two questions with that. How did you
get your mindset in gear or keep it in gear?
And number two, was there one person or two people
who really made an impact and helped bring you out
of that?
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Well, you know my wife. At that point it turns
away from coaching and it becomes very personal, right, And
so I brought you know, I wasn't the best. I
brought it home, you know, with me, I wore it
on my forehead, so to speak. It was it was
how I thought people saw me. And my wife is
(37:01):
is you know, truly you know, my best friend and
also a great protector you want. She's the kind of
person you want on your side, I'll tell you that.
And so she became a source. Unfairly. I think it
was hard on her too. It was hard on her
to see a struggles. But she was terrific in those
(37:22):
moments of protecting me, of understanding, you know, what I
could do and what I couldn't do at that point,
what I was capable of, and and kind of resetting
my priorities. You know, I was very thankful to have,
(37:42):
you know, a daughter and a family, and you really
start to work on who you are. And I had
a mental you know, there was a great I hate
to say mental coach. There was a sports psychologist named
Harvey Dorfmann who wrote a seminal book on the mental
aspect of baseball. And I flew and met with him
(38:05):
and talked with him, and he recommended books to me.
And so slowly through all of that I started to
gain a better sense of perspective and started to understand
that I wasn't my job, I wasn't who people saw
me as being out there on the field at that moment.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
And then from that you came back and finished a
great career.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Well at that point, and I can't say that I
wish I had a cinderellative tale to tell you, I,
you know, the truth of the matter was, I pitching
is much like sprinting at times, you know, you rely
on a certain amount of velocity, and I began to
lose that a little bit earlier than I hoped in
(38:58):
my late twenties and early third and I relied a
lot on a fastball, and I was never able to
really become a good off speed pitcher. And so the
game required me to be perfect. And it's just not
a perfect It's just not a game that you can
play having to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
No, no, no, I'm sure it's you know, I'm sure
it's it's not I'm sure it's very hard. Like I said,
I can't imagine and I can't imagine being a mom even,
you know. I often think when my son, you know,
was a soccer guy, you know, but still out there
you're you know, you only have one moment, right, you
(39:39):
only have one time to do this. We talk about,
you know, you only have one chance to make a
first impression. Well, and that's kind of like this is
every time you're on the mound, right, you have one chance,
and and nobody's perfect all the time, and those are
really those are really tough challenges. So you've left your
mark in stadiums across America. But where do you feel
you've left your you've made deepest impact. Is it on
(40:01):
a baseball field? Is there somewhere else?
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Well, that's a great question. And I don't mean to
shamelessly plug, but so I have a documentary that's coming
out ESPN did. It was a couple of years in
the making and it's Sunday Night. It's called Southpaw. And
you know, I've been out of the game for a
(40:27):
long time now. I retired in nineteen ninety nine, and
when they approached me about doing this documentary, I was
very skeptical. I enjoy my life. I'm very happy. There's
things that I celebrate about my baseball career. There's things
that I wasn't so certain that I wanted to jump
into again. But they offered a fresh perspective. And I'm
(40:49):
a big fan of ESPN's documentary divisions thirty for thirty
or E sixty, and I doing this film as offered
a certain self discovery. Even I'm in my mid fifties.
(41:10):
We met so many families and so many kids when
I was playing, When I was a pitcher in Anaheim,
in Boston and New York, in Texas, in Oakland, in Toronto, Detroit.
It didn't matter every time we went to And some
of my deepest memories were these quick encounters with a
(41:32):
family who would show up in a city that I
knew nothing about. You know, a boy or a little
boy or a little girl missing a hand, missing part
of an arm, some of them facing challenges, and it
became I didn't really think a ton of it when
I was playing. I just thought that was kind of
(41:53):
what you did. That was kind of what how your
major league experience went. But this documentary has kind of
showed it's they've gone back and they've found these kids.
I mean, they've gone back and they've showed them, you know,
what they're doing now and they're basketball players and MMA
(42:16):
fighters and race car drivers and cross country you know,
bikers and moms and dads and teachers and it's it's amazing.
It's amazing. And the how they've carried those at that
encounter at those stadiums with them. Ah. Could I can
only answer your question by saying, I think probably probably
(42:41):
that was my greatest impact. I you know, my my
baseball achievements were decent, but that probably will be the
way I'm remembered.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
That's I mean. It's interesting because one of my questions
wished you is do you remember a story about someone
who you really have helped and someone who you really
made an impact on? And probably it was maybe one
of those those people, one of those children, or.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
It was I think it was the children. And listen,
I almost am speaking in the second in the in
the second person or first person, or because it doesn't
feel like it was me. I was not. That was
not my mission. I'll be honest. I wanted. I was
a as I mentioned, I was a determined, ambitious, at
(43:36):
times selfish competitor. I wanted to be the best possible
picture I could possibly be. I did not think. Yes,
I appreciated the importance of taking time, and I appreciated
the importance of meeting with people and doing the butt.
(43:58):
I felt like to be a role model, to be
somebody they might look to being good, having achievement and
not just participating. Participating sane is great. Don't get me wrong.
If what your capabilities allow our only participation, that's fantastic.
But going back to what my dad said, more has
(44:21):
been given than was taken away. What's been given once
is take given back twice. And I know in my heart,
and I knew in my heart that more was given
to me. I wasn't defined by my right hand it
was that wasn't the excuse to go out and do
poorly on a baseball field. I was given a lot
of talent and I had to make the most of that.
That was my mission. But meeting these kids and the
(44:46):
lessons that they took away, and as much the children,
the parents, the questions they asked me about my own
parents and what had they said and how had they
inspired me? And what was the approach? You know, my
parents were as much of the story as I ever was,
you know, because I think I think a lot of
(45:06):
parents and doctors and grandparents and took lessons from that
and in ways, honestly, Bellorie that I didn't really know,
I didn't know. And the film it's very emotional for
me to watch because it takes me by surprise. At
times I sit back and I said, Wow, that was
(45:30):
going on, you know. I yes, I said hello to
this young man, met his parents, maybe wrote a letter,
sent a picture, signed a card. I didn't know that
it would have the lasting impact that it would have.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Interesting. Yeah, it's very touching. So one of my what
I know people want to know is what makes this movie,
this documentary different than others you've done and all the
hundreds of interviews that you've had and features about you.
I looked you up of course on YouTube, and hundreds
and hundreds of interviews and documentaries. What makes South Pod different.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
I think it is the I think it is the
story of It's two different stories. And I'm going to
sound like a complete jerk here, but it's the title
is the Life and the Legacy, And so they show
my life and that story has been told, you know that.
(46:39):
You know, they show my life and growing up in
Flint and having one hand and playing and this sort
of amateur baseball experience that was very unique the major leagues,
the disappointment, the success, but running concurrent with that is
the story of these children, these kids, these families, and
(47:05):
they start to talk about They meet with a doctor Lightdale,
who's the hand surgeon up at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles,
and what she has told her children, her patients as
they come to her with these questions and they talk
to different people around the country, experts in the field
(47:26):
of disability, and so this film goes to a different level. Honestly,
like I said, it's emotional for me. I wasn't expecting it.
They brought out perspectives that I never knew were out
there when I was just trying to be the best
picture I could be.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
And who came up with that thought or the idea
of putting together a documentary with all this emotion and
these people who had met you and that's pretty incredible. Well,
there's Eupean project.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
It's an it's an ESPN project, and I I don't
know if you've watched any of their their documentaries, but
they have a very talented crew and they called me
and so the director was was a gentleman named Mike Ferrell,
who I was I didn't know at all, and he
sent me some of his work and I was impressed.
(48:25):
I thought he had, you know, had brought an interesting
perspective and sort of a dramatic, uh storytelling method. He
uses music very well, he uses you know, different perspectives
very well. Uh. And then another gentleman who I knew
a little bit, but I knew and I actually knew
(48:45):
his dad, Jeremy Shapp. His father was Dick Shapp, a
famous sports reporter in New York City for for a
very long time. Both of them are incredibly accomplished, and
Jeremy I respected quite a bit. And when he came
on board and he tapped Mike Farrelly, our director, on
the back, and he said, hey, this guy, you're in
(49:06):
good hands and you have to try. You know, if
you're going to do a documentary, you have to trust
the people because they're going to drag your brother into it,
your mother into it, your family into it. You know,
they're going to take a lot of time and they're
going to ask questions that you don't necessarily want to
put your family or friends through. So I took the
(49:28):
leap of faith. It was a couple of years in
the making, and you know, I hope people like it.
Speaker 1 (49:37):
I'm sure they will, and we're really honored that we
have the opportunity to speak with you before that comes out.
You've spoken a lot about adversity and mindset. What lessons
do you think are especially relevant today, especially for younger generations,
And you do a lot of motivational speaking, and so
what is the what is the lesson that you hope
(49:59):
that people in this time, the kids in this time takeaway.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I think, you know, when I speak on stage, I
talk about creativity. We talked about that learning to do
things differently, that you can do things differently and still
do them just as well. And you know, meeting with
Little League teams around southern California, around the country, that's
what I love. The message I love to share with
(50:27):
it with Little League teams is that you might be
You can be fast, you can be enthusiastic, you can
throw a pitch really well, you can be you know,
a power hitter. There's so many ways to contribute to
a team. So I think understanding that you can do
things differently and still do them just as well. And
at the end of the day, a belief in yourself
(50:49):
and what you bring to the table after doing all
that work and all that preparation, and in this moment,
believe it, trust it, and and know that you have
it within you to do what is necessary to meet
the moment.
Speaker 1 (51:09):
Great message, Great message. And do you like speaking? Most
of your speaking is to is to children or younger people,
not anymore.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
I did. I did so much of that, you know,
I spoke to a lot of charitable organizations and different
things over the years, and that helped me to learn.
But now I do it. I do a lot for work,
I travel, if I go on the road, if I
leave home, I'm speaking more to groups and associations and
(51:42):
in corporate stuff and different things. But it's no less rewarding,
you know, it's fascinating to me to see, you know,
what people are up to, what they're trying to figure out,
and how the principles that baseball players take out on
the field, whether they're pitchers or position players, can be
very very much the same that people are taking to
(52:03):
what they're trying to get done in life and in it.
There's just a lot of parallels to the way people
think if.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
You were, if you were, if you could pick one
little boy and tell and give him a lesson today,
what would you like your legacy to be? What would
you like that one lesson? And it sounds like you've
just told us that you can become kind of whatever
you want to be. And is that the lesson you
(52:29):
want everyone to hear?
Speaker 2 (52:33):
You know, there's so many things I'd like to share,
you know, the circumstances of your life don't have to
define who you are. Your outward appearance means nothing to
what you can accomplish. Somebody else's expectations or somebody else's
beliefs are not what is possible. And at the end
of the day, we have to hold out strongly and
(52:56):
deeply that amazing things can happen. You know, I struggle
with anything you can do anything, because I probably won't
be the best piano player that's ever lived, But amazing
things are possible.
Speaker 1 (53:14):
And believe and keep your mindset, which we think is
pretty that the example that you've been to so many
of us is just to just keep trying and never
and just like you said, not let that define you
is pretty impactful. And I know that there are so
many people who appreciate the messages that you've shared with them,
and the charity organizations who've appreciated your message, and on
(53:40):
behalf of all of those people and those of us
who may never have the opportunity to meet you, but
just know that you make an impact and all of
us don't get the opportunity to make an impact like
you do, and so we all thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (53:57):
Well, thank you, Beller. I've enjoyed our discussion quite a bit,
and we didn't even have to talk too much about sports,
so it worked out.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
We didn't but we would have. But I do want
to thank you for sharing your heart, your mindset, your
incredible journey. Your story reminds us that limitations are only
in our minds and that we all should have the
courage to rise above them. So we'll be watching South
Paul with admiration and excitement knowing that we got to
hear a little bit of the backstory. Thank you very
(54:25):
much for being with us today on SOCAW with Val.
Thank you, Jim Ebbett
Welcome to another episode of Sokaw with Val, where we
explore the stories, the places, and definitely today the people
that make Southern California really shine today. I am deeply
honored to welcome a true legend, not just in baseball,
but in life. Jim Abbott is one of the most
(00:41):
remarkable athletes of our time. He didn't just overcome the odds,
he redefined them, from throwing a no hitter with the
New York Yankees to winning Olympic gold to standing tall
on major leagues mounds across the country. His story is
one of heart, of grit and unshakable belief in what's possible,
(01:05):
all of these many accomplishments, by the way without a
right hand. And now, as we prepare to watch his documentary,
Southpaw is brand new ESPN documentary premiering on July thirteenth,
which is coming up in just a few days. We
are so privileged to get to sit down with the man,
(01:25):
the legend, and that have a real, very personal conversation.
We're going to talk about mindset, resilience and what legacy
really means and whether you're a baseball fan or you're
just someone who's looking for a little bit of hope
or loves a great story. That's what you'll hear today.
So roll up your windows if you're driving, turn up
(01:45):
the volume and let's get started. Lean in close and
welcome me as I welcome the one and only Jim
Abbott to so Cow without Jim, thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Thank you. That was such a nice introduction. I'm very
honored and I'm looking forward to our discussion today.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
We are too, and I'm excited because this is a
unique opportunity for me, it's certainly for you. I am
not a sports announcer. I'm not ESPN is not likely
to hire me anytime soon. But we know that there
are a lot of people like me who would love
to hear your story and hear from you, and who
(02:29):
can relate to you, and they all have questions and
would love to hear about you. So that's what we
hope to accomplish today. And I wanted to talk a
little bit also about your background before we go on.
Is that you've dedicated your life to motivational speaking. You're
also the author of a book called Imperfect and Improbable Life,
which many of us could probably relate to. And you
(02:51):
now reside between your childhood home of Michigan and different
parts of Michigan maybe and in southern California. And we
know that you still remain a powerful voice in sports
and helping other people, encouraging other people. And we want
to hear a little bit of work about your charity
work as well a little bit about it. So let's
get started about your time in Flint, Michigan you were
(03:16):
growing up. Tell me about your time as a child.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
You talk.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I've heard you talk a little bit about your parents
and that you always thought you were kind of normal,
and then I heard the story about the plastic baseball glove.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, you know, there's always that moment in all of
our lives when we find out that we're not normal, right,
well like everybody else. Yeah, you know, I so my story.
You know, maybe if your listeners aren't sports fans, or
even if they are younger sports fans or whatever. I
grew up missing my right hand. I was born that way,
(03:55):
and it's all I ever really knew. So the first
few years of my life, we're we're very we're very
you know. I spent time with my cousins and my friends,
and I learned to do things and and it. You know,
it wasn't until I started kindergarten. I started school, uh,
walking into a classroom and I wore a prosthesis on
(04:19):
my right hand at that time, which was in the
shape of a metal hook. It was clumsy and a
little cumbersome, and it attracted a lot of attention. So
I think that's when I first became aware of my
differences from from the other kids in the classroom. And
you know, from there it became a pretty interesting journey.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And what was it like navigating the playground and the
classroom and then even the locker room with just one
function one hand with fingers, I should say, sure it.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
You know, I knew what it was like to be different.
I I was made very aware of that by comments
and second glances and awkwardness, you know, in school, on
a playground, in the hallways. And I don't want let
me just say from the beginning, a lot of people
have it a lot worse than me. I don't want
(05:17):
to overplay the significance of the difference that I had,
you know, and I do think that the wording and
the empathy in our society has truly changed in that time.
From then until now when I was a kid. My
parents were very young when they had me, and they
(05:41):
didn't know what to do. There were information wasn't shared
like it is today, and so they were searching. They
were searching for answers, they were searching for ideas, and
one of these, you know, a doctor had told them
about a prosthesis, and so they sent me to this
hospital in western Michigan, not far from where you grew up,
(06:02):
and it was called it was actually called the you know,
the Crippled Children's Hospital, and it's one of my earliest
memories of being in that in that atmosphere and trying
to learn how to use a prosthesis. So, you know,
I certainly understood what it was like to be off
(06:22):
to the side a little bit. And and honestly, that's
sort of what why sports called to me. I found
my way into acceptance.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Through sports, sure, because you could achieve on your own
whatever you achieved, and you were respected right for whatever
it was you accomplished. In sports.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Sure, yeah, if you know it may I may look
look different in the hallway or in the classroom, but
at recess, when they threw the balls out in the
playground and started tossing them around. You know, I wanted
to fit in and I was lucky to be honest.
If your question was what did I face? I did face.
I knew what it was like to be different. But
(07:05):
overwhelmingly I had great friends and teachers and coaches and
parents and who often believed in me when I didn't
always believe in myself.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
And that's a good thing. And I'd love to hear
the story of learning to tie your shoes? Well, do
you think that story was a story of caring and
compassion as well as just a lesson in what I
mean by that? Did you think so much of what
that person did for you that then inspired you to
help others?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah? You know. My second grade teacher, Don Clarkson, mister
Clarkson was He was the sweetest man, a tall, tall man.
He taught our class. He used to work in NASA
at one point, so he used to bring pictures of
space into our We thought he was the coolest guy
in the world. And you know, I had a problem
(07:58):
with tying my shoes. My pairents used to have to
triple nod at them in the morning and help me,
and they inevitably, because I was active and running around.
They would come on down, of course, and somebody would
have to help me to tie them. And one day,
you know, mister Clarkson showed up at the classroom and
he took me out in the hallway. I thought I
(08:19):
was in trouble for something. And like I said, he
was a big man. He sat down in this small,
little elementary school chair and across from me, and he
undid the laces of his dress shoes and he used
one clenched fist to tie his shoes and he said,
I got it. I know how you can do this.
(08:40):
And you know, at the time, I was just intrigued
as to his method. And it, honestly, it's what I
used to this day. Is it right to tie shoes?
And you know, that day was the beginning of that journey,
and it wasn't you know, obviously I was too young
to appreciate the generosity of that gesture, you know that
(09:01):
he had. I can imagine what his wife must have
been thinking. He went home and he had untied the
laces of his you know, he's working with that at home.
I mean, that's that's just that's really a special generous
thing to do for a student in your classroom.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Yeah, that's an amazing story, in one of those stories
you'll always remember, right, even he made such an impact
in the fact that he took the time and effort
to teach you.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, it sure was.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Being different ever make you feel special? Did you ever
think to yourself, well, I'm special because I'm a little
bit different, and rather than people make me feel bad,
I'm gonna I'm going to remind myself that this makes
me really special. Everybody isn't like me, right, I'm unique.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I can't say that I ever felt that way, to
be honest. How I could relate to that was my parents.
They didn't they didn't dissuade me from from activities. They didn't.
They didn't stop me from encountering failure. And a consistent
message from my dad was, you know, what's been taken
(10:17):
away once will be given back twice. And I think
there's a biblical aspect to that. I can't tell you
what it is, but he, you know, he believed that
in what's been taken away once has been given back twice.
And I think what he was saying is close to
what you're hinting at, that you're up to this challenge.
(10:40):
You were up to this challenge, and while I didn't
feel special, I did start to believe from their encouragement
that I could meet the moment, so to speak.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Was there ever a time when you believed what others
said you couldn't do? People said you can't do something.
Was there ever a time you believed it? Or did
you always think I can do this?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I think if I had one thing that I'm proud
of from my youth is that I believe that I
could do it. I really did, and I don't. I
don't know if that was inherent within me or if
that came from the generosity of people around me who
were so determined to find answers and solutions, But whatever
(11:34):
it was, by the time I started to encounter challenges
that were difficult to solve in changing the glove on
and off of my left hand, or holding a baseball bat,
or tying my shoes, bunning a shirt, tying a tie,
or regular things I didn't involve have missing a hand
(11:56):
or being different. I grew to have a pretty strong
sense of not giving up, like not giving up and
finding an answer. Different I think nuanced from not giving
up in a race or not giving up in a
physical activity. This was not giving up in a way
(12:17):
that their belief that there was an answer that with
enough time and then with enough energy, we were going
to figure it out. So creativity, you know, played a
huge part in my childhood.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
And your dad wanted you to play soccer.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I don't know. Maybe I don't think so. He Their
first and foremost priority was my grades. They were really
into school. They were so young, you know. I give
him a lot of credit. I don't think they had
a manual. I don't think they knew what they were doing,
and they just got tossed into the world with a
(12:56):
child missing a hand. And I marvel at them because
they were very instinctual. They didn't push anything on me,
but they didn't protect me from anything either.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
So you decided you didn't like soccer, And then I
think I read or heard that you also played football.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
I did you know? I discovered somewhere along the line.
I think it was second grade. I won the second
grade softball toss contest in our field Day or whatever
it was back in Michigan that they did in the spring,
and at that point it kind of dawned on me
that I had what they call in baseball, good left,
you know, a good arm, and my left arm was
(13:41):
a good one. And I could throw things, and I
could skip rocks, and I could throw a frisbee, and
I could throw a softball or baseball or football. It
was just it was natural to me. So, you know,
anything that involved throwing was exciting, and I was eager
to join.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And so football. But you didn't stick with football. You
always still baseball was your first love.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well, I played everything. I played everything in Michigan, as
we do in the Midwest. You know, you have to
go inside at some point and start playing basketball. And
in the spring you couldn't wait to get your baseball
glove out. And so I did play some casual football.
I didn't really play organized football until my junior year
of high school, when the head coach invited me out.
(14:34):
I wouldn't even say it was invited me told me
I was going to play football, and that's when I played,
you know, organized football with pads and everything for the
first time.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
And was there a specific moment when you realized that
this was what you wanted to do? And I think
was So what was your transition between high school and
major league baseball? You actually was it correct that you
turned down a scholarship to go to stay Are you
you turned down as signing with the team to stay
(15:08):
in college?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
That what happened, Yes, so the way it works in baseball,
and I kept climbing the ladder. I did well in
Little League, and I had I loved major League baseball.
But I can't say that it was a goal, you know,
not that I didn't think I could do it, but
just it seems so far of impossibility. And then I
(15:31):
had a good high school career. I played for a
local club team that was very good, and then I
played at the University of Michigan, which is one of
my proudest affiliations. But I was drafted after my high
my senior year of high school, by the Toronto Blue Jays,
and although I wasn't a high draft pick, you know,
they they were serious with an offer, and I had
(15:54):
I had to weigh the options of either going to
college or signing that contract. And I like to at
my mother with encouraging me to go to school. It
was the best decision she ever made for me. And
I know I need, I needed to grow up, and
I needed to get both physically and mentally and then
I went to Michigan for three years, and then I
(16:14):
signed with the Angels in after my third year of college.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
And when you found you could leave all the snow
and come to southern California, you were sold.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh my gosh. You know my first impression. We had
a guy on our I played baseball at Michigan. We
had a catcher who was from Palace Verdes and he
he came to Michigan and he we the team made
the Rose Bowl that year. So he invited us back
to his house in Palace Vertes. His dad was a
very successful doctor, and so we flew out to California
(16:50):
for our first time, in my first time in the
in the southern California, and we woke up in the
morning in the daylight and looking out over the ocean,
and I saw Catalina Island for the first time, and
I was stunned beyond words. I was like, you can't
nobody's supposed to be able to live like this. This
isn't right. And I don't even remember how that Rose
(17:12):
Bull turned out. I don't remember who we played, but
I remember going home, back to back to Michigan and
actually dreaming dream I had dreams about living in California someday.
And when I finished college and was drafted by the Angels,
that was sort of I was like, Wow, I'm actually
gonna gonna go out there and try to make that
(17:34):
team and live out there, and so it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
And then even when you didn't play for the Angels,
you maintained a home here.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah. My wife is from California and we met, and
you know, our home base has always been in the
Newport Beach, Orange County area, and it's just even when
we were playing in Chicago or Milwaukee or New York,
we would always come back home to California.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
And why not? Why not? So you played for the
Angels and then your next team, did you go to
New York next after that?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah? I played for the Angels for four years. I
had some good years and I was doing well there,
but they, you know, we I was traded to the
Yankees for a couple of prospects, and uh, yeah, so
I played the next two years for New York. I
came back to the Angels and played for them, and
(18:36):
I played a little bit with the Chicago White Sox
and the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
So you got to go back to the Midwest a
little while, just to keep you remembering why you wanted
to be in southern California, right.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
You know, honestly, I love the Midwest and I'm here
now in Michigan and I love it. But it's it's
a nice it's nice to have both experiences.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
So we need to talk about your time with the Yankees.
Wouldn't be complete. Our time wouldn't be complete if we
didn't talk about that. So that's where you had your
no hitter game, correct.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
That's where I yes, I did.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
When you were on the mound, At what point do
you realize that that this is going to be your night?
Is there ever a time or is every pitch and
every hit you just never know you're so close? Was
there ever a time that you thought this is going
to be it?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
No, you're on pins and needles the whole game. You know,
I wouldn't even say the whole game. Maybe let's say
from the seventh inning on, when there's three more innings
and nine more outs to go, three outs an inning,
and you know, that's when the countdown begins in your
mind and the fans mind, and your teammate's mind, and
the competition's mind, and that's when the nerves start to
(19:53):
build a little bit. That's when the excitement hits. And
you know, I remember it, remember more about those feelings
and more about sitting in the dugout between innings than
I do about the actual innings themselves, and being out
there on the field just because it was so vivid.
You know what you were feeling and so so out
(20:18):
of the ordinary.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And so were you. How do you quiet the noise?
There's so much noise in the stadium and the noise
in your mind, and feeling the pressure of your teammates
watching you because you are the guy, right, you have
to make this happen. You don't get two chances at
a pitch, right, And so how do you quiet all
(20:45):
that noise and keep your mind so focused that you're
able to achieve these great things?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's a great question, and that's the hardest part. That's
the hardest part that any picture will face, and not
just in the no hitter. But you're not well, it
wasn't the only guy out there. You know. I had
great defense that day, and that's part of it too.
We had great defenders who made a lot of great
plays in the field that kind of saved that no
(21:12):
hitter and allowed me to have this career dream. But
quieting the mind was trust, trust in them that they
would they would be there for me, and that if
I threw, I didn't have to be too I'd have
to strike everybody out. Back then, the game was a
little bit different. You you you could rely on your
(21:32):
fielders a little bit more. It wasn't as much of
a swing and miss strikeout game that the modern game
is now. And the other part of it was trying
to stay in the moment. And I want, I would
love to avoid cliches here, but you have to rely
on them. You know, it's it's one pitch at a time,
and you realize that that's the only thing you have
(21:55):
control of, the only thing and the result. You can
throw a good pitch and have a bad result. That's
part of baseball. So you have to resign yourself to
just being in the moment, in this one pitch, this
next pitch.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
And when you're in that moment, is there was there
someone or something that was in the back of your mind.
Would you remember like a mister Clarkson type of situation,
or would you remember a person or as saying or
something that reminded you kept you focused, and that motivated you,
(22:34):
kept your mindset right where it needed to be at
that time.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Two answers to that, there's the exact opposite of having
somebody around, because the superstition in baseball is if you're
doing something well, they quit talking to you. Your teammates,
there's a very superstitious sport, and so they they feared
saying something or doing something that might take away from
(23:01):
the moment. But there was my you know, my catcher
that day. Our catcher that day was a guy named
Matt Noaks, a southern California guy lives in San Diego
now and he was just one of those wonderful, upbeat,
enthusiastic guys. He he put down every sign for a
pitch with enthusiasm and a fist pump and it was
(23:23):
his You know, we really worked together that day. We
had a real camaraderie. We agreed on almost every call
he was I had a couple of moments where things
got dicey and he came out to the mound and
talked to me. So I would put Matt Oaks in
that category of a mister Clarkson for sure.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
And many of us would love to know when someone
comes out and talks to you on the mound, whether
it's your coach or whether it's the catcher, what are
those conversations like, is it simply a motivational talk, like
come on, Jim, we can do this, or is there
something else?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
They vary. It depends on what's going on. Sometimes it
can be very strategic, you know, like who's coming up,
what the plan is, you know, what the pitch should be.
Are we looking to get this guy out or maybe
avoid him and get the next guy he's this guy's
not as dangerous as the next is this guy's more
dangerous than the next guy. Sometimes it's a kick in
(24:22):
the pants, you know, let's go, let's get it together,
wake up. Sometimes it's mechanical, you know, so a lot
of times it can be I think some people think
that those meetings are more raw raw than they are.
Sometimes it's just to settle you down. And we had
a great pitching coach and a wonderful mentor in my
life was I mean they met Marcel Latchman with the
(24:46):
Angels back in the day.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
And.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Oftentimes his trips to the mound were just to calm
you down just to just to recalibrate when he felt
like you have had moved past them, when your mind
was racing, you were trying to do too much. You know,
he was out there just to remind you to bring
it back to who you are.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, I maybe just kind of take a break, right,
break the speed or the moment, just to give you
a chance to recalibrate a little bit. Absolutely so, was
there ever a time in that game when you thought, well,
I guess there would be a time when maybe it
could have gone the other way? Right? So we we
(25:32):
house baseball players in some of our properties, and I
often tell them I think my job has a lot
of pressure. I could not possibly do what you guys do.
You live and die and breathe every single pitch right,
every single play, and you can only do it one time.
You don't get to practice, you don't get to replay it.
(25:53):
How do you deal with all of that pressure?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I think you. I don't think you can allow yourself
to think about extraneous events and circumstances and competition. So
much of it is is belief, So much of it
is knowing what got you to that point, what the
preparation has been, you know, not your whole life, but
(26:21):
also that week what you have done, you know, leading
up to this game and what it takes and you know,
so you know, I play golf. I love to play golf,
and I get up in a golf tournament and they'll
be you know, ten to twelve people around watching or whatever,
and I get very nervous. And people with my friends
(26:44):
will say, why do you know, you know, how can
you be nervous? You pitched in front of fifty thousand
people before it. I said, well, it's an entirely different
skill set. You know. I did that my whole life,
So there was there was a foundation to call upon,
you know, that allowed you to narrow that focus down
in golf, I don't have that much of a foundation
to call upon to give me the confidence to go up,
(27:08):
you know, to do what I need to do on
the course or the tea box.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Sure. Yeah, and probably swinging a club is a little
bit different movement than pitching on the game.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, there's some commonality, but it is different for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Sure. Let's talk about your experience at the Olympics. How
fun was that was it? Is it different? Is it
a different kind of audience. Is it a different experience
do you play for I mean, I'm sure you play
for your country and all those things that go with that,
(27:44):
but how was that experience for you.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It is one of my very very favorite baseball experiences
or sporting experiences. It was back then baseball was a
sport that was only amateur players played, So it was
only college players and only college coaches, and we were
(28:13):
going up against amateur teams Japan, Cuba, Taiwan, you know,
all these different teams that were amateur as well. But
the major league game wasn't as international as it is now,
so a lot of those players, particularly like with Cuba,
you know, they had older players who weren't allowed you know,
(28:35):
they were major league players, but they just weren't allowed
to come to the United States and play. So we
were going up against people a lot older than us
and very skilled. So it was a heck of a
challenge and we had running battles. I played for two years.
I played on the PanAm team the Pan American Games
and my sophomore year, and then I played on the
Olympic team my junior year, and it was a team
(28:59):
that was kind of comprised of the same guys for
two years, so we became extremely close. The travel was difficult,
it was not glamorous. It was not the big leagues.
We traveled on school buses. We carried all of our
own equipment. We went. We played in minor league talents
around the world, you know. We played in Italy and
Japan and Cuba and just just all over. And so
(29:25):
the Olympics were a culmination of basically two full summers
playing together with one goal in mind and getting to
the Olympics and qualifying for the Olympics and then to
try to win. And the Olympic village was amazing, you know,
for baseball players in particular. I turned twenty one in
(29:46):
Soul Korea at the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
So goodness.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
We won't get into that.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
No I was going to ask, but I'll let that go.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
But we had a lot of fun. You know, we
had a lot we were We had each other to
rely on. But I was I pitched the gold medal
game and I was out there in the ninth inning.
You know, I needed three more outs for us to win.
And I've never been so hopeful. I was twenty one
(30:18):
years old. I was nervous, but I wanted it so badly,
as much for myself as for those guys and those
coaches that I loved. And you know, when we got
that final out, Robin Ventura I have These might be
names that your audience isn't familiar with, but he was
our third basement from Oklahoma State. Tino Martinez was across
(30:39):
the diamond when we got that final out. That celebration
on the mound I had, you know, we celebrated like
baseball players do. I had twenty five guys on top
of me, yelling and screaming, and that my face was
in the Korean mud, you know, elbows in my neck
and knees in my ribs. I was crushed. But I'd
never been so happy in my life. And so it
(31:03):
was a culmination, and it was you know, my no
hitter was a surprise. This was being out there on
the ninth inning was a culmination. So I put the
two hand in hand with my favorite memories on the
baseball diamond.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Was it hard than know? After you had this amazing
achievement together, you'd all won this together, and certainly it
sounds like it was together, right, You'd really been together
for a long time and you had to come home,
and unlike your major league team, where you come home,
you come back to your own stadium again, but here
you all went to your own homes and your team
(31:41):
kind of disbursed a little bit. That must have been
a little sad.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
It was sad. I mean, I'll never forget I will
never ever forget that flight from South Korea to Los
Angeles because we only had one night to celebrate in Seoul,
and then we flew across the you know, the world,
basically home, and it was our last game together and
(32:06):
a lot of us were heading off to professional baseball,
and we truly had a bond that was that was
very special. We'd been through a lot together, we felt
a lot of pressure, so there were a lot of hugs,
and I don't you know, to be honest with you, Valerie,
I don't know that any of us knew how special
(32:29):
that was. It is it is so difficult to create
that kind of camaraderie, that singularity of purpose in a
team and have everybody fighting and clawing for the same
result and wanting it so badly, and so looking back
(32:49):
on it, it was bittersweet stepping off that plane and
saying goodbye to everybody.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Oh, I'm sure, because you you must have become like
a band of brothers really.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
In some ways. I mean, we weren't fighting a war
or anything, but.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
No, certainly were we.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
We felt like that. We felt like a band of brothers.
You know, to this day, I see those guys. I
don't see them often, but when I do, there's a
there's a connection that will never be broken.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Yeah, and those kind of experiences, Jim, nobody can live them,
but you right, they only happened one time, right, Like
you're no hitter, the one time experiences and you were
in that place, you know, at that time, and those
were the people you were with, and they're just lifetime experiences,
(33:41):
which obviously pretty special. Was there ever a time when
you thought you'd just give up it was just too
hard or other things? Was there ever a time when
anything seemed more of a shiny object or more interesting
with the ever anything you thought you'd rather do? You
were playing, it was hard and being traded. And is
(34:05):
there ever a time you thought I'll just go do
something else? Was that ever an option for you?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Yeah? I had to grow up, you know, I had
to grow up on a baseball field. And then the
public eye. You know, I had, I think, one of
the interesting stories. And this might be true for everybody,
but I know it was true for me. You know,
I had based so much. I was born missing my
(34:32):
right hand, so I look, I feel like that was
a big part the driving force for my need to
do well. And I pushed and I fought and I worked,
and I was not always the nicest person on a field.
I had an ambition that you might think was a
(34:53):
bit over the top, to be honest with you, but
it worked, you know, it really worked. And then when
I got to the major leagues, I came up against
guys every bit as good as me and better, and
so the fight became different. And then for the first
time in my life, it didn't come easy, you know.
(35:16):
And in the first time in my life, I faced failure,
and I faced disappointment in disappointing coaches, disappointing the people
around me. And so I did, all of a sudden
that success that those feelings on the field were taken
(35:38):
away and I had to make I had to figure
out who I was without that, and I that was very,
very difficult, and at times I did feel I did
question why I was doing it why I was putting
myself through this kind of pain, And it turns out
I feel like it was gross in the end. It
didn't feel like that at the time, but if there
(36:01):
were times when I felt like quitting, it was it
was at that moment when I was you know, I'd
lost eighteen games for the Angels one year and it
was being chronicled in the papers and national news really
about I was the worst pitcher in baseball, and it
was it was very, very difficult to regain my sense
(36:22):
of self esteem.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So I have two questions with that. How did you
get your mindset in gear or keep it in gear?
And number two, was there one person or two people
who really made an impact and helped bring you out
of that?
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Well, you know my wife. At that point it turns
away from coaching and it becomes very personal, right, And
so I brought you know, I wasn't the best. I
brought it home, you know, with me, I wore it
on my forehead, so to speak. It was it was
how I thought people saw me. And my wife is
(37:01):
is you know, truly you know, my best friend and
also a great protector you want. She's the kind of
person you want on your side, I'll tell you that.
And so she became a source. Unfairly. I think it
was hard on her too. It was hard on her
to see a struggles. But she was terrific in those
(37:22):
moments of protecting me, of understanding, you know, what I
could do and what I couldn't do at that point,
what I was capable of, and and kind of resetting
my priorities. You know, I was very thankful to have,
(37:42):
you know, a daughter and a family, and you really
start to work on who you are. And I had
a mental you know, there was a great I hate
to say mental coach. There was a sports psychologist named
Harvey Dorfmann who wrote a seminal book on the mental
aspect of baseball. And I flew and met with him
(38:05):
and talked with him, and he recommended books to me.
And so slowly through all of that I started to
gain a better sense of perspective and started to understand
that I wasn't my job, I wasn't who people saw
me as being out there on the field at that moment.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
And then from that you came back and finished a
great career.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
Well at that point, and I can't say that I
wish I had a cinderellative tale to tell you, I,
you know, the truth of the matter was, I pitching
is much like sprinting at times, you know, you rely
on a certain amount of velocity, and I began to
lose that a little bit earlier than I hoped in
(38:58):
my late twenties and early third and I relied a
lot on a fastball, and I was never able to
really become a good off speed pitcher. And so the
game required me to be perfect. And it's just not
a perfect It's just not a game that you can
play having to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
No, no, no, I'm sure it's you know, I'm sure
it's it's not I'm sure it's very hard. Like I said,
I can't imagine and I can't imagine being a mom even,
you know. I often think when my son, you know,
was a soccer guy, you know, but still out there
you're you know, you only have one moment, right, you
(39:39):
only have one time to do this. We talk about,
you know, you only have one chance to make a
first impression. Well, and that's kind of like this is
every time you're on the mound, right, you have one chance,
and and nobody's perfect all the time, and those are
really those are really tough challenges. So you've left your
mark in stadiums across America. But where do you feel
you've left your you've made deepest impact. Is it on
(40:01):
a baseball field? Is there somewhere else?
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Well, that's a great question. And I don't mean to
shamelessly plug, but so I have a documentary that's coming
out ESPN did. It was a couple of years in
the making and it's Sunday Night. It's called Southpaw. And
you know, I've been out of the game for a
(40:27):
long time now. I retired in nineteen ninety nine, and
when they approached me about doing this documentary, I was
very skeptical. I enjoy my life. I'm very happy. There's
things that I celebrate about my baseball career. There's things
that I wasn't so certain that I wanted to jump
into again. But they offered a fresh perspective. And I'm
(40:49):
a big fan of ESPN's documentary divisions thirty for thirty
or E sixty, and I doing this film as offered
a certain self discovery. Even I'm in my mid fifties.
(41:10):
We met so many families and so many kids when
I was playing, When I was a pitcher in Anaheim,
in Boston and New York, in Texas, in Oakland, in Toronto, Detroit.
It didn't matter every time we went to And some
of my deepest memories were these quick encounters with a
(41:32):
family who would show up in a city that I
knew nothing about. You know, a boy or a little
boy or a little girl missing a hand, missing part
of an arm, some of them facing challenges, and it
became I didn't really think a ton of it when
I was playing. I just thought that was kind of
(41:53):
what you did. That was kind of what how your
major league experience went. But this documentary has kind of
showed it's they've gone back and they've found these kids.
I mean, they've gone back and they've showed them, you know,
what they're doing now and they're basketball players and MMA
(42:16):
fighters and race car drivers and cross country you know,
bikers and moms and dads and teachers and it's it's amazing.
It's amazing. And the how they've carried those at that
encounter at those stadiums with them. Ah. Could I can
only answer your question by saying, I think probably probably
(42:41):
that was my greatest impact. I you know, my my
baseball achievements were decent, but that probably will be the
way I'm remembered.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
That's I mean. It's interesting because one of my questions
wished you is do you remember a story about someone
who you really have helped and someone who you really
made an impact on? And probably it was maybe one
of those those people, one of those children, or.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
It was I think it was the children. And listen,
I almost am speaking in the second in the in
the second person or first person, or because it doesn't
feel like it was me. I was not. That was
not my mission. I'll be honest. I wanted. I was
a as I mentioned, I was a determined, ambitious, at
(43:36):
times selfish competitor. I wanted to be the best possible
picture I could possibly be. I did not think. Yes,
I appreciated the importance of taking time, and I appreciated
the importance of meeting with people and doing the butt.
(43:58):
I felt like to be a role model, to be
somebody they might look to being good, having achievement and
not just participating. Participating sane is great. Don't get me wrong.
If what your capabilities allow our only participation, that's fantastic.
But going back to what my dad said, more has
(44:21):
been given than was taken away. What's been given once
is take given back twice. And I know in my heart,
and I knew in my heart that more was given
to me. I wasn't defined by my right hand it
was that wasn't the excuse to go out and do
poorly on a baseball field. I was given a lot
of talent and I had to make the most of that.
That was my mission. But meeting these kids and the
(44:46):
lessons that they took away, and as much the children,
the parents, the questions they asked me about my own
parents and what had they said and how had they
inspired me? And what was the approach? You know, my
parents were as much of the story as I ever was,
you know, because I think I think a lot of
(45:06):
parents and doctors and grandparents and took lessons from that
and in ways, honestly, Bellorie that I didn't really know,
I didn't know. And the film it's very emotional for
me to watch because it takes me by surprise. At
times I sit back and I said, Wow, that was
(45:30):
going on, you know. I yes, I said hello to
this young man, met his parents, maybe wrote a letter,
sent a picture, signed a card. I didn't know that
it would have the lasting impact that it would have.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Interesting. Yeah, it's very touching. So one of my what
I know people want to know is what makes this movie,
this documentary different than others you've done and all the
hundreds of interviews that you've had and features about you.
I looked you up of course on YouTube, and hundreds
and hundreds of interviews and documentaries. What makes South Pod different.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
I think it is the I think it is the
story of It's two different stories. And I'm going to
sound like a complete jerk here, but it's the title
is the Life and the Legacy, And so they show
my life and that story has been told, you know that.
(46:39):
You know, they show my life and growing up in
Flint and having one hand and playing and this sort
of amateur baseball experience that was very unique the major leagues,
the disappointment, the success, but running concurrent with that is
the story of these children, these kids, these families, and
(47:05):
they start to talk about They meet with a doctor Lightdale,
who's the hand surgeon up at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles,
and what she has told her children, her patients as
they come to her with these questions and they talk
to different people around the country, experts in the field
(47:26):
of disability, and so this film goes to a different level. Honestly,
like I said, it's emotional for me. I wasn't expecting it.
They brought out perspectives that I never knew were out
there when I was just trying to be the best
picture I could be.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
And who came up with that thought or the idea
of putting together a documentary with all this emotion and
these people who had met you and that's pretty incredible. Well,
there's Eupean project.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
It's an it's an ESPN project, and I I don't
know if you've watched any of their their documentaries, but
they have a very talented crew and they called me
and so the director was was a gentleman named Mike Ferrell,
who I was I didn't know at all, and he
sent me some of his work and I was impressed.
(48:25):
I thought he had, you know, had brought an interesting
perspective and sort of a dramatic, uh storytelling method. He
uses music very well, he uses you know, different perspectives
very well. Uh. And then another gentleman who I knew
a little bit, but I knew and I actually knew
(48:45):
his dad, Jeremy Shapp. His father was Dick Shapp, a
famous sports reporter in New York City for for a
very long time. Both of them are incredibly accomplished, and
Jeremy I respected quite a bit. And when he came
on board and he tapped Mike Farrelly, our director, on
the back, and he said, hey, this guy, you're in
(49:06):
good hands and you have to try. You know, if
you're going to do a documentary, you have to trust
the people because they're going to drag your brother into it,
your mother into it, your family into it. You know,
they're going to take a lot of time and they're
going to ask questions that you don't necessarily want to
put your family or friends through. So I took the
(49:28):
leap of faith. It was a couple of years in
the making, and you know, I hope people like it.
Speaker 1 (49:37):
I'm sure they will, and we're really honored that we
have the opportunity to speak with you before that comes out.
You've spoken a lot about adversity and mindset. What lessons
do you think are especially relevant today, especially for younger generations,
And you do a lot of motivational speaking, and so
what is the what is the lesson that you hope
(49:59):
that people in this time, the kids in this time takeaway.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I think, you know, when I speak on stage, I
talk about creativity. We talked about that learning to do
things differently, that you can do things differently and still
do them just as well. And you know, meeting with
Little League teams around southern California, around the country, that's
what I love. The message I love to share with
(50:27):
it with Little League teams is that you might be
You can be fast, you can be enthusiastic, you can
throw a pitch really well, you can be you know,
a power hitter. There's so many ways to contribute to
a team. So I think understanding that you can do
things differently and still do them just as well. And
at the end of the day, a belief in yourself
(50:49):
and what you bring to the table after doing all
that work and all that preparation, and in this moment,
believe it, trust it, and and know that you have
it within you to do what is necessary to meet
the moment.
Speaker 1 (51:09):
Great message, Great message. And do you like speaking? Most
of your speaking is to is to children or younger people,
not anymore.
Speaker 2 (51:22):
I did. I did so much of that, you know,
I spoke to a lot of charitable organizations and different
things over the years, and that helped me to learn.
But now I do it. I do a lot for work,
I travel, if I go on the road, if I
leave home, I'm speaking more to groups and associations and
(51:42):
in corporate stuff and different things. But it's no less rewarding,
you know, it's fascinating to me to see, you know,
what people are up to, what they're trying to figure out,
and how the principles that baseball players take out on
the field, whether they're pitchers or position players, can be
very very much the same that people are taking to
(52:03):
what they're trying to get done in life and in it.
There's just a lot of parallels to the way people
think if.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
You were, if you were, if you could pick one
little boy and tell and give him a lesson today,
what would you like your legacy to be? What would
you like that one lesson? And it sounds like you've
just told us that you can become kind of whatever
you want to be. And is that the lesson you
(52:29):
want everyone to hear?
Speaker 2 (52:33):
You know, there's so many things I'd like to share,
you know, the circumstances of your life don't have to
define who you are. Your outward appearance means nothing to
what you can accomplish. Somebody else's expectations or somebody else's
beliefs are not what is possible. And at the end
of the day, we have to hold out strongly and
(52:56):
deeply that amazing things can happen. You know, I struggle
with anything you can do anything, because I probably won't
be the best piano player that's ever lived, But amazing
things are possible.
Speaker 1 (53:14):
And believe and keep your mindset, which we think is
pretty that the example that you've been to so many
of us is just to just keep trying and never
and just like you said, not let that define you
is pretty impactful. And I know that there are so
many people who appreciate the messages that you've shared with them,
and the charity organizations who've appreciated your message, and on
(53:40):
behalf of all of those people and those of us
who may never have the opportunity to meet you, but
just know that you make an impact and all of
us don't get the opportunity to make an impact like
you do, and so we all thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (53:57):
Well, thank you, Beller. I've enjoyed our discussion quite a bit,
and we didn't even have to talk too much about sports,
so it worked out.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
We didn't but we would have. But I do want
to thank you for sharing your heart, your mindset, your
incredible journey. Your story reminds us that limitations are only
in our minds and that we all should have the
courage to rise above them. So we'll be watching South
Paul with admiration and excitement knowing that we got to
hear a little bit of the backstory. Thank you very
(54:25):
much for being with us today on SOCAW with Val.
Thank you, Jim Ebbett
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.