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Imperfect: An Improbable Life
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Published:
Books on Tape 2012
Accelerated Reader:
IL: MG+ - BL: 6.9 - AR Points: 15
Lexile measure:
1040L
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Available from OverDrive

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On an overcast September day in 1993, Jim Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium and threw one of the most dramatic no-hitters in major-league history. The game was the crowning achievement in an unlikely success story, unseen in the annals of professional sports. In Imperfect, the one-time big league ace retraces his remarkable journey.
 
Born without a right hand, Jim Abbott as a boy dreamed of being a great athlete. Raised in Flint, Michigan, by parents who saw in his condition not a disability but an extraordinary opportunity, Jim became a two-sport standout in high school, then an ace pitcher for the University of Michigan.
 
But his journey was only beginning.
 
As a nineteen-year-old, Jim beat the vaunted Cuban National Team. By twenty-one, he’d won the gold medal game at the 1988 Olympics and—without spending a day in the minor leagues—cracked the starting rotation of the California Angels. In 1991, he would finish third in the voting for the Cy Young Award. Two years later, he would don Yankee pinstripes and deliver a one-of-a-kind no-hitter.
 
It wouldn’t always be so good. After a season full of difficult losses—some of them by football scores—Jim was released, cut off from the game he loved. Unable to say good-bye so soon, Jim tried to come back, pushing himself to the limit—and through one of the loneliest experiences an athlete can have.
 
But always, even then, there were children and their parents waiting for him outside the clubhouse doors, many of them with disabilities like his, seeking consolation and advice. These obligations became Jim’s greatest honor.
 
In this honest and insightful memoir, Jim Abbott reveals the insecurities of a life spent as the different one, how he habitually hid his disability in his right front pocket, and why he chose an occupation in which the uniform provided no front pockets. With a riveting pitch-by-pitch account of his no-hitter providing the ideal frame for his story, this unique athlete offers readers an extraordinary and unforgettable memoir.

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Format:
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Street Date:
04/03/2012
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780307990549
Accelerated Reader:
MG+
Level 6.9, 15 Points
Lexile measure:
1040

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Citations

APA Citation (style guide)

Jim Abbott. (2012). Imperfect: An Improbable Life. Unabridged Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Jim Abbott. 2012. Imperfect: An Improbable Life. Books on Tape.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Jim Abbott, Imperfect: An Improbable Life. Books on Tape, 2012.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Jim Abbott. Imperfect: An Improbable Life. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2012.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.

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Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 18:13:52
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:46:35
Last Metadata Check:
Aug 25, 2024 09:43:53
Last Metadata Change:
Jul 14, 2024 10:01:14
Last Availability Check:
Aug 25, 2024 09:43:56
Last Availability Change:
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        Tim Brown is an award-winning writer with twenty years of experience covering Major League Baseball at the Los Angeles Times, The Star-Ledger, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Los Angeles Daily News. He studied journalism at the University of Southern California and Cal State Northridge, and currently works for Yahoo! Sports.
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On an overcast September day in 1993, Jim Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium and threw one of the most dramatic no-hitters in major-league history. The game was the crowning achievement in an unlikely success story, unseen in the annals of professional sports. In Imperfect, the one-time big league ace retraces his remarkable journey.
 
Born without a right hand, Jim Abbott as a boy dreamed of being a great athlete. Raised in Flint, Michigan, by parents who saw in his condition not a disability but an extraordinary opportunity, Jim became a two-sport standout in high school, then an ace pitcher for the University of Michigan.
 
But his journey was only beginning.
 
As a nineteen-year-old, Jim beat the vaunted Cuban National Team. By twenty-one, he’d won the gold medal game at the 1988 Olympics and—without spending a day in the minor leagues—cracked the starting rotation of the California Angels. In 1991, he would finish third in the voting for the Cy Young Award. Two years later, he would don Yankee pinstripes and deliver a one-of-a-kind no-hitter.
 
It wouldn’t always be so good. After a season full of difficult losses—some of them by football scores—Jim was released, cut off from the game he loved. Unable to say good-bye so soon, Jim tried to come back, pushing himself to the limit—and through one of the loneliest experiences an athlete can have.
 
But always, even then, there were children and their parents waiting for him outside the clubhouse doors, many of them with disabilities like his, seeking consolation and advice. These obligations became Jim’s greatest honor.
 
In this honest and insightful memoir, Jim Abbott reveals the insecurities of a life spent as the different one, how he habitually hid his disability in his right front pocket, and why he chose an occupation in which the uniform provided no front pockets. With a riveting pitch-by-pitch account of his no-hitter providing the ideal frame for his story, this unique athlete offers readers an extraordinary and unforgettable memoir.
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      • value: Grade 6
      • value: Grade 7
      • value: Grade 8
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      • premium: False
      • source: Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr.
      • content: "Jim Abbott is the embodiment of perseverance. The obstacles that he was able to overcome to play the game at the highest level are remarkable and his story can teach all of us valuable lessons. Jim was a fierce competitor. He never viewed his disability as a disadvantage and, as a result, it wasn't. Imperfect is a terrific story and the best part is that it's true."
      • premium: False
      • source: Don Mattingly, former New York Yankee captain and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager
      • content:
        "As I read Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Jim Abbott's love for the game jumped off the pages. It was like Jim was right in front of me telling me his life's journey. I felt his pain, hurt, joy, exhilaration, disappointment and accomplishments throughout his life. Jim has always been and continues to be an inspiration for all of us."
      • premium: False
      • source: Mark Kriegel, author of Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich and Namath: A Biography
      • content: "The story of Jim Abbott--wonderfully crafted by Tim Brown--is everything you'd expect from a baseball life: funny, heartbreaking, and triumphant, though not necessarily in that order. Still, to label this fine book 'an inspiration' almost misses the larger point. Imperfect isn't about learning to cope with a disability. It's about becoming a man in America."
      • premium: False
      • source: Ian O'Connor, New York Times bestselling author of The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter and Arnie & Jack
      • content: "Jim Abbott was 20--22 as a pitcher for the Yankees, and yet, as a man who played the game with one hand, an argument should be made that he belongs among the greatest players of all time. In Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Abbott and one of America's leading sports journalists, Tim Brown, tell the amazing story of a man's dignity and grace in overcoming a forbidding physical hurdle to pitch 10 big-league seasons and to throw a no-hitter. Abbott won every day he took the mound. This book is required inspirational reading for all fans of the human spirit."
      • premium: False
      • source: Tom Verducci, senior writer for Sports Illustrated and New York Times bestselling co-author of The Yankee Years
      • content: "If you think you knew the inspirational story of Jim Abbott, think again. With Tim Brown, Abbott gives an unflinching account of his remarkable baseball life--the joys and the pains. With each chapter you know him better and root even harder for him."
      • premium: False
      • source: Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season

      • content: "Imperfect is one of the finest baseball memoirs ever written, an honest, touching, and beautifully rendered story that will remind even the most jaded fans why they loved the game. It is far more than a book about baseball; it is a deeply felt story of triumph and failure, dreams and disappointments. Jim Abbott has hurled another gem."
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On an overcast September day in 1993, Jim Abbott took the mound at Yankee Stadium and threw one of the most dramatic no-hitters in major-league history. The game was the crowning achievement in an unlikely success story, unseen in the annals of professional sports. In Imperfect, the one-time big league ace retraces his remarkable journey.
 
Born without a right hand, Jim Abbott as a boy dreamed of being a great athlete. Raised in Flint, Michigan, by parents who saw in his condition not a disability but an extraordinary opportunity, Jim became a two-sport standout in high school, then an ace pitcher for the University of Michigan.
 
But his journey was only beginning.
 
As a nineteen-year-old, Jim beat the vaunted Cuban National Team. By twenty-one, he’d won the gold medal game at the 1988 Olympics and—without spending a day in the minor leagues—cracked the starting rotation of the California Angels. In...
sortTitle
Imperfect An Improbable Life
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subtitle
An Improbable Life
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bisacCodes
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      • description: Body, Mind & Spirit / Inspiration & Personal Growth
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      • description: Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General