Former University of Michigan All-America one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott （1986-88） has been selected by the Big Ten Network as the conference's 36th-best student-athlete as part of the series “Big Ten Icons”, a program counting down the top 50 student-athletes in conference history based on their collegiate playing careers. Abbott was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and had his No. 31 retired by Michigan that same year. He also has been inducted into the State of Michigan Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan's Hall of Honor.

前密西根大學入選1986-88年全美明星隊的獨臂投手艾伯特，被10大網路協會選為第36名最佳學生運動員，這是「10大運動偶像」選秀系列活動的一環，這項活動正從第50名倒數，根據選手在大學時的運動表現，選出前50大最優秀的學生運動員。艾伯特2007年曾被選入大學棒球名人堂，同年他穿的31號球衣獲得退役殊榮。他也被選入密西根州名人堂和密大榮譽殿堂。

The first of Jim Abbott's collegiate pitching victories at the University of Michigan may have been his most significant because of the statement it made about his capabilities. Though he was born without a right hand, Abbott had the physical ability, the mental ingenuity and the intestinal fortitude to become a top-level athlete: a standout quarterback in football, a major league pitching prospect in baseball.

艾伯特在密大最初幾場比賽勝投可能意義最重大，因為他不啻以行動證明他的能力。雖然生來就少了右手，艾伯特的體能、聰明才智和毅力韌性都高人一等，足以成為頂級運動員：一個出色的美式足球4分衛，也可望成為大聯盟棒球投手。

He was on in relief for the Wolverines with a runner on third in a tie game against North Carolina in the spring of his freshman year. After Abbott's first pitch, Carolina's third-base coach ordered the runner to break for home, certain Abbott would not be able to throw home in time to retire him.

他大一那年春季，密大狼獾隊對北卡隊打成平手，3壘有北卡跑者，這時艾伯特登場救援。艾伯特投出第一球之後，北卡隊3壘教練下令跑者向本壘盜壘，看死艾伯特無法及時將球傳回本壘板封殺他。

Abbott, a picture of calm, executed a maneuver he'd been practicing most of his life: He removed the ball from the glove he wore on his left hand, slipped the glove under his right arm and made a strong, accurate throw with his left in plenty of time to nail the runner. Michigan scored in the bottom of the inning, rewarding Abbott with a win for the one pitch he had delivered ... and the statement he'd subsequently made. “I don't ever remember it being something I had to master,” Abbott said of the glove-to-hand transition. “It was just something I did.”

艾伯特處變不驚，使出一招他一直在練的絕技：他迅速把球從左手手套取出，再把手套塞到右臂下，左手立刻投出強勁準確的球，游刃有餘地把跑者刺殺出局。密西根州隊在這局結束時得分，艾伯特那記妙傳，為他贏得一次勝投……他隨後並發表聲明，「我已渾然忘我，不覺得自己有什麼過人之處。」艾伯特說明球從手套傳到手的過程：「這只是我分內該做的事。」

“Just something I did,” summed up Abbott's approach to sports. There was no place in his life for self-pity, no thought of viewing himself as anything other than a committed athlete striving to be the best he could be.

「只是我分內該做的事。」這句話總結艾伯特的運動精神。他生命中沒有任何餘裕可自哀自憐，一心一意只想全力以赴，成為最強的運動員。

Any hitter who stood in against him soon realized that the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Abbott was a hard-throwing, tough-minded left-hander, certainly no gimmick. “In recruiting, I didn't do any favors -- we were too competitive for that,” said Bud Middaugh, the Wolverines' coach when Abbott played at Michigan. “I just hoped he'd be a competent college pitcher. He turned out far better than I imagined.”

任何打者面對艾伯特時，很快就意識到，身高190.5公分、體重95公斤的艾伯特，是個意志堅強的左手強投，絕對不可小覷。「在延攬他時，我沒有任何私心，我們競爭對手太強不能來這套。」艾伯特在密大打球時的狼獾隊教練米德說：「我只希望他是個優秀的大學投手，結果他比我預期的好太多了。」

Abbott went 26-8 for the Wolverines in his three varsity seasons, helping them to two Big Ten titles. His 26 wins are the fourth highest total in school history. His 3.04 career ERA is sixth best, and his 13 complete games rank eighth. Abbott said, “Playing baseball for Michigan is one of my proudest accomplishments. My greatest memory could be the day I walked into the locker room and saw my jersey hanging in my locker.” He wore it well.

在艾伯特3個賽季中，密大狼獾隊26勝、8敗，拿下2次美國中西部10大冠軍，也是密大有史以來第4好的成績，他3.04的投手自責分率排名第6，13場完全比賽排名第8。艾伯特說：「為密大打棒球，是我個人最值得驕傲的成就之一。我最美好的記憶，是走進更衣室，看到球衣掛在衣物櫃裡。」他披著戰袍，始終不辱使命。

In 1987, Abbott won the Sullivan Award from the Amateur Athletic Union as the nation's top amateur athlete, the first baseball player so honored. In 1988 he was the Big Ten Player of the Year, and won both the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top college player and the Jesse Owens Award as Big Ten male athlete of the year, the first baseball player to do so.

1987年，業餘運動聯盟頒發「蘇利文獎」給艾伯特，推舉他為全美最優秀業餘運動員，他也是首位獲這項殊榮的棒球選手。1988年，他又被選為年度10大最佳球員，同時以全美最佳大學球員榮獲「金釘鞋獎」和年度10大男運動員獲頒「傑西歐文斯獎」，是首位同時獲此二獎的棒球選手。

The bigger the stage, the better Abbott performed. Pitching for Team USA, he beat the Cuban National team in Cuba in 1987, the first American pitcher to do so in 25 years. He pitched a complete-game seven-hitter to defeat Japan 5-3 in the gold-medal game at the 1988 Olympics and was named top male athlete of the Seoul games.

舞台愈大，艾伯特表現愈好。1987年，他代表美國隊投球，在古巴擊敗古巴國家隊，他也是25年來美國第一位打敗古巴的投手。1988年奧運，他又投出完全比賽，以7支安打5-3擊敗日本隊，勇奪金牌，被選為漢城奧運最佳男子運動員。

Pitching achievements aside, Abbott has been an inspiration for the way he has approached life, not just baseball. He lives in California and devotes his time to motivational speaking, as well as working with the federal government on projects involving disability issues and awareness. Abbott said, “I have learned that it's not the disability that defines you, it's how you deal with the challenges the disability presents you with. We have an obligation to the abilities we do have. I have never felt slighted. The truth is, I have been incredibly blessed. More was given to me than was ever taken away.”

除了投球成績令人刮目相看，艾伯特面對生活的方式和棒球一樣鼓舞人心。他住在加州，經常投入大量時間發表勵志演說，同時和聯邦政府合作，推廣認識殘疾問題的計畫。艾伯特說：「我已領悟到，決定你一生的不是殘疾本身，而是你如何面對它所構成的挑戰。我們有責任發揮我們所長，我從不覺得遭人鄙視。事實上，我一直非常幸運。我得到的遠比失去的多。」

In this AFP file photo, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jim Abbott bunts for a single in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs 30 June, 1999 . Abbott also hit a two-run single in the fourth inning of the Brewers' 5-4 loss to the Cubs.

這張1999年的檔案照顯示，當時擔任美國職棒密爾瓦基釀酒人隊先發投手的艾伯特，在6月30日對芝加哥小熊隊第3局以短打敲出一壘安打。艾伯特並在第4局敲出2分打點的安打，但釀酒人隊最後仍以5-4敗給小熊隊。（法新社）