Former 'M' star, Abbott, bats in rst MLB game

Abbott, who was born with only one hand, wondered what all the fuss was about yesterday.

The former Michigan standout received a standing ovation for grounding out to third in the Milwaukee Brewers' 9-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

"It's a nice acknowledgment from the fans," said Abbott, who went 0-for-2. "But I can't say I take a lot of pride getting fisted off the hands and getting applause for it. I'd rather do something and feel a little more deserving of it."

Before this season, Abbott played exclusively in the American League, where a designated hitter bats instead of the pitcher.

AP PHOTO Former Michigan pitcher Jim Abbot took his first Major League at-bat in yesterday's Brewers-Cardinals game. Abbot, who was born with one hand, had not previously batted, because he was in the American League where teams play with a designated hitter.

He grounded out against Kent Mercker in the third inning and took a called third strike in the fourth.

It took a perfect play by third baseman Fernando Tatis to catch him by a half-step on a chopper that started the third inning.

"That would have been a trivia question," Mercker said. "The guy's a great athlete and I don't take anybody for granted. I had to treat him like every other hitter in that lineup.''

Abbott didn't exactly treat Mercker like every other pitcher.

"I haven't seen too many lefties, so he looked like Randy Johnson out there,'' he said. "Kent wasn't throwing real hard, but to me he was.''

Mercker found the Johnson reference amusing.

"He might have to get (the bat) started a little earlier on Randy,'" Mercker said.

Abbott hopes his hitting - like his pitching - becomes less of a curiosity.

"It's not anything I'll look back on and cherish, that's for sure,'' he said. "Hopefully I can improve and make a little better contact next time out."

Like Abbott, Brewers manager Phil Garner didn't think it was a big deal.

"That doesn't surprise me with him," Garner said. "He swung the bat OK in spring training and got a hit. He'll handle the bat OK. He'll do fine."

Abbott was 1-for-4 at the plate during spring training with two groundouts, a flyout, and a sacrifice bunt.

Balancing the bat with his right arm, he singled off Seattle's Butch Henry in spring training March 10 - his third career hit in spring training.

On March 28, 1992, he singled for the Yankees off Florida's Mike Myers, now a Brewers teammate.

On March 18, 1991, he tripled for the Angels against San Francisco's Rick Reuschel.

Abbott, who signed with the Brewers in January, had been looking forward to being a complete player for the first time since high school.

"It was fun," he said. "I enjoyed getting out there between innings and thinking about something else rather than pitching.

"It feels a little bit more like when you're a kid playing. You get to play all the aspects."

04-09-99