Virginia Krueger

On September 18, Chelsea District Library welcomed famed MLB pitcher Jim Abbott to Chelsea for an afternoon assembly with Chelsea High School students and a public evening event. During the afternoon at the high school, Jim presented to approximately 225 students.

He invited a student from the audience to come on stage with him to demonstrate how he learned to throw and catch having been born without a right hand. He went on to speak on three themes: creativity, accountability, and trust, using stories from his school days and MLB career. The students were engaged and asked great questions. Jim validated their ideas, complimented their generation for being more accepting of differences than what he grew up with, and spoke of their potential for leadership.

The evening event featured an interview with Mike Ramsdell, the director of Set Apart: The Jim Abbott Story. Mike grew up in Flint and knew Jim’s family, which gave a personal tone to the interview that was truly special. Jim emphasized that we are all responsible for performing to the best of the ability that we have been given. He recalled that his dad always told him that “Whatever had been taken from [him] would be given back twice in return.” They talked about the importance of family and told stories of Jim’s school and professional careers. These stories ranged from Jim’s time playing in Cuba in front of Fidel Castro, to his no-hitter in NY, to the story of Jim’s daughter asking “if he liked his little hand” in a preschool classroom.

And his answer to that preschool question – “Yes, it is part of who I am, and it has taken me places I never dreamed that I would go.”