Of the 323 no-hitters in Major League Baseball history, Jim Abbott's is arguably the most impressive. Not because it was the most dominant, but because the left-handed pitcher was born without a right hand.
More than 30 years later, the jersey Abbott wore when he threw his no-hitter for the Yankees on Sept. 4, 1993, is hitting the market for the first time.
Michael Russek of Grey Flannel, which is offering the historic item at its next auction, said the consignor bought it from a Yankees official tent sale in the 1990s. The jersey was identified as simply a Jim Abbott game-used jersey, but the buyer was able to photo-match it to Abbott's no-hitter against against Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and a hard-hitting Cleveland lineup.
Russek, who also owns Photo-Match.com, confirmed the match by comparing it to unique characteristics in the photos, including the alignment of the pinstripes throughout the jersey. To an outsider, pinstripes seem like the most predictable pattern on a uniform, but they are actually quite the contrary due to typical imperfections.
"This was as feel good of a story as baseball had," Russek told cllct. "There were so many people rooting for this guy because all that he had overcome and then to throw a no-hitter?"
Russek estimates the jersey is worth between $30,000 and $50,000. The only other relic that has sold from the game was a game ball signed by Abbott, which went for $393 at R.R. Auction in 2011.
Abbott, an All-America pitcher at Michigan, was picked in the first round by the California Angels and also pitched for the 1988 Olympic team. He finished his 10-year major-league career with an 87-105 record for the Angels, Yankees, Brewers and White Sox.
Bidding for the auction begins May 15 and closes June 9.
Other items in the auction include a Wilt Chamberlain photo-matched jersey from his first season with Lakers and a 1936 Olympics gold medal in rowing from one of "The Boys in the Boat," the University of Washington team that was recently made famous by the George Clooney-directed movie.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.