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RK PLAYER POS HOMETOWN HT WT STARS GRADE SCHOOL

1 QB-PP Belleville, MI
Belleville High School 6’4” 205 92

2 OT Charlotte, NC
Providence Day School 6’6” 250 91

3 WR Saraland, AL
Saraland High School 6’0” 175 91

4 DE Miami, FL
Miami Central High School 6’4” 250 90

5 DT Savannah, GA
Savannah Christian Preparatory School 6’4” 270 90

6 CB Birmingham, AL
A. H. Parker High School 6’2” 185 90

7 WR Duncanville, TX
Duncanville High School 5’11” 180 89

8 CB Houston, TX
North Shore High School 6’2” 170 88

9 S Zephyrhills, FL
Zephyrhills High School 6’3” 170 88

10 OLB Ellaville, GA
Schley High School 6’3” 225 88

11 S Alabaster, AL
Thompson High School 6’2” 190 87

12 WR Jacksonville, FL
Mandarin High School 6’2” 185 87

13 OT Prichard, AL
Vigor High School 6’5” 290 87

14 WR Ackerman, MS
Choctaw County High School 6’4” 190 86

15 TE-H Los Alamitos, CA
Los Alamitos High School 6’5” 235 86

16 DT Manchester, GA
Manchester High School 6’6” 280 86

17 OT Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman High School 6’6” 285 86

18 DE Edwardsville, IL
Edwardsville High School 6’4” 235 86

19 TE-Y Folkston, GA
Charlton County High School 6’7” 235 86

20 OG Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman High School 6’3” 285 86

21 ATH Chattanooga, TN
Baylor School 6’3” 215 86

22 OT Roswell, GA
Fellowship Christian School 6’5” 255 86

23 OLB San Juan Capistrano, CA
JSerra Catholic High School 6’3” 210 86

24 OT Lewisville, TX
Lewisville High School 6’5” 290 86

25 QB-PP Brentwood, TN
Brentwood Academy 6’6” 185 86

26 ATH Selma, AL
Southside High School 6’2” 190 85

27 DE Birmingham, AL
Spain Park High School 6’7” 235 85

28 CB Winter Garden, FL
West Orange High School 6’0” 175 85

29 RB Metairie, LA
Saint Martins Episcopal School 6’0” 185 85

30 WR Tampa, FL
Tampa Bay Tech Senior High 6’4” 190 85

31 DE Norfolk, VA
Maury High School 6’6” 235 85

32 CB Atlanta, GA
Douglass High School 6’1” 185 85

33 RB Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’0” 215 85

34 CB Mission Viejo, CA
Mission Viejo High School 6’4” 185 85

35 OT Jacksonville, FL
Raines High School 6’5” 300 85

36 S Thomasville, GA
Thomas County Central High School 6’0” 175 84

37 RB Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’1” 210 84

38 OLB Buford, GA
Buford High School 6’4” 210 84

39 RB Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 5’9” 190 84

40 OLB Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’3” 215 84

41 CB Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 5’11” 185 84

42 WR Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’0” 185 84

43 DE Houston, TX
Summer Creek High School 6’5” 230 84

44 S Monroe, NC
Monroe High School 6’0” 175 84

45 DE Troy, AL
Charles Henderson High School 6’4” 225 84

46 CB New Iberia, LA
Westgate High School 6’1” 180 84

47 QB-PP Saraland, AL
Saraland High School 6’0” 175 84

48 DE College Park, GA
Woodward Academy 6’3” 245 84

49 ATH Clayton, OH
Northmont Senior High School 6’2” 190 84

50 QB-PP Warner Robins, GA
Houston County High School 6’5” 215 84

51 RB Lynchburg, VA
Liberty Christian Academy 6’0” 195 84

52 DE Philadelphia, PA
Imhotep Institute Charter High School 6’6” 235 84

53 OLB La Verne, CA
Bonita High School 6’4” 215 84

54 S Washington, DC
Gonzaga College High School 6’0” 190 84

55 CB Katy, TX
Patricia E. Paetow High School 5’11” 175 84

56 RB Elba, AL
Elba High School 5’10” 190 84

57 OT Mesquite, TX
Horn High School 6’7” 280 84

58 OLB Galveston, TX
Ball High School 6’3” 210 84

59 CB Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’1” 185 84

60 RB Quitman, MS
Quitman High School 6’0” 205 84

61 OLB North Palm Beach, FL
The Benjamin School 6’5” 210 84

62 OT Spanish Fork, UT
Spanish Fork High School 6’8” 290 84

63 OLB McKinney, TX
McKinney High School 6’2” 205 84

64 CB Detroit, MI
Cass Technical High School 6’1” 180 83

65 WR Fulshear, TX
Jordan High School 6’1” 175 83

66 OLB Jesup, GA
Wayne County High School 6’1” 200 83

67 DE Tallahassee, FL
James S. Rickards High School 6’5” 250 83

68 S Pittsburg, CA
Pittsburg High School 6’2” 185 83

69 CB Buford, GA
Buford High School 5’10” 165 83

70 OT Evans, GA
Evans High School 6’6” 305 83

71 OLB Fort Pierce, FL
John Carroll High School 6’2” 215 83

72 OG Lilburn, GA
Parkview High School 6’4” 280 83

73 S Olney, MD
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School 6’2” 205 83

74 ATH Oradell, NJ
Bergen Catholic High 6’3” 200 83

75 OT Atlanta, GA
Westlake High School 6’8” 330 83

76 DT Lake City, SC
Lake City High School 6’5” 295 83

77 QB-PP Moore Haven, FL
Moore Haven Jr-Sr High School 6’2” 190 83

78 OT Cedar Rapids, IA
John F. Kennedy High School 6’8” 345 83

79 DT Birmingham, AL
A. H. Parker High School 6’2” 310 83

80 OLB Omaha, NE
Westside High School 6’3” 215 83

81 OT Toms River, NJ
Toms River North High School 6’6” 305 83

82 WR Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 5’10” 175 83

83 RB Leesburg, GA
Lee County High School 6’1” 215 83

84 OT Denton, TX
Billy Ryan High School 6’5” 280 83

85 OLB Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’2” 210 83

86 S Enterprise, AL
Enterprise High School 6’3” 205 83

87 OT Salem, VA
Salem High School 6’4” 300 83

88 DE Weatherford, OK
Weatherford High School 6’5” 225 83

89 WR Pleasanton, CA
Foothill High School 6’1” 180 83

90 OC Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman High School 6’3” 300 83

91 DT Snow Hill, NC
Greene Central High School 6’4” 265 83

92 DE Cocoa, FL
Cocoa High School 6’5” 235 83

93 WR Mission Hills, CA
Bishop Alemany High School 6’2” 190 83

94 OLB Sugar Land, TX
Fort Bend Christian Academy 6’3” 210 83

95 WR Homestead, FL
Homestead Senior High School 6’1” 180 83

96 TE-H Mukilteo, WA
Kamiak High School 6’4” 225 83

97 CB Lexington, MS
Holmes County Central High School 6’1” 180 83

98 DT Hattiesburg, MS
Oak Grove High School 6’4” 280 83

99 ATH Shaker Heights, OH
Shaker Heights High School 6’0” 180 83

100 QB-DT San Diego, CA
Abraham Lincoln High School 6’5” 200 82

101 DE Greensboro, NC
Grimsley High School 6’4” 245 82

102 DT Hattiesburg, MS
Hattiesburg High School 6’2” 285 82

103 WR West Palm Beach, FL
Cardinal Newman High School 6’1” 175 82

104 S Little Rock, AR
Parkview Arts & Science Magnet High 6’0” 180 82

105 ATH Cleveland Heights, OH
Cleveland Heights High School 6’1” 200 82

106 DT Nashville, TN
The Ensworth School 6’5” 280 82

107 TE-H Washington, OK
Washington High School 6’4” 225 82

108 ATH San Antonio, TX
Alamo Heights High School 6’3” 215 82

109 WR Ennis, TX
Ennis High School 5’10” 170 82

110 OLB Dallas, TX
Skyline High School 6’2” 220 82

111 DE Texarkana, TX
Pleasant Grove High School 6’5” 250 82

112 ATH Saint Louis, MO
Vashon High School 5’11” 190 82

113 OLB Jersey City, NJ
Snyder High School 6’1” 215 82

114 OG Fort Valley, GA
Peach County High School 6’4” 285 82

115 QB-DT Lucedale, MS
George County High School 6’4” 190 82

116 TE-H Alpharetta, GA
Alpharetta High School 6’3” 225 82

117 WR Lee’s Summit, MO
Lee’s Summit North High School 6’2” 190 82

118 OLB Philadelphia, PA
St. Joseph’s Prep School 6’4” 215 82

119 QB-PP Corona, CA
Centennial High School 6’1” 190 82

120 CB Kahuku, HI
Kahuku High School 6’0” 165 82

121 WR Allen, TX
Lovejoy High School 6’0” 175 82

122 OLB Lake Cormorant, MS
Lake Cormorant High School 6’2” 210 82

123 CB Brownsboro, TX
Brownsboro High School 6’1” 180 82

124 S Jacksonville, FL
Mandarin High School 6’2” 185 82

125 RB Cleveland, OH
Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School 6’1” 215 82

126 DT Washington, DC
Friendship Collegiate Academy 6’4” 310 82

127 CB Hollywood, FL
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School 6’0” 170 82

128 OT Waukesha, WI
Catholic Memorial High School 6’6” 280 82

129 RB Philadelphia, PA
Imhotep Institute Charter High School 6’1” 210 82

130 DE HIghland Home, AL
Highland Home High School 6’4” 235 82

131 QB-PP Frisco, TX
Rock Hill High School 6’1” 200 82

132 RB Plantation, FL
American Heritage High School 5’11” 205 82

133 DT Lufkin, TX
Lufkin High School 6’3” 295 82

134 WR Oklahoma City, OK
Millwood High School 6’4” 190 82

135 CB Santa Ana, CA
Mater Dei High School 6’0” 185 82

136 S Jackson, TN
Jackson Christian School 6’1” 190 82

137 DT Port Charlotte, FL
Port Charlotte High School 6’5” 285 82

138 QB-PP Findlay, OH
Findlay High School 6’3” 210 82

139 OLB Owings, MD
McDonogh School 6’2” 215 82

140 CB Chester, VA
Thomas Dale High School 6’2” 180 82

141 DT Greenville, MS
Saint Joseph Catholic School 6’3” 265 82

142 RB Seminole, FL
Osceola High School 5’9” 185 82

143 CB Quartz Hill, CA
Quartz Hill High School 6’2” 170 81

144 ILB Dallas, TX
South Oak Cliff High 6’0” 210 81

145 RB Humble, TX
Atascocita High School 5’11” 180 81

146 CB Pearland, TX
Shadow Creek High School 6’0” 170 81

147 WR Pahokee, FL
Pahokee High School 6’1” 175 81

148 OLB El Centro, CA
Central High School 6’2” 210 81

149 CB Los Alamitos, CA
Los Alamitos High School 6’2” 165 81

150 OLB Cincinnati, OH
Winton Woods High School 6’4” 215 81

151 CB Miami, FL
Booker T. Washington High School 6’1” 170 81

152 OG Rabun Gap, GA
Rabun Gap Nacoochee School 6’5” 275 81

153 WR Red Oak, TX
Red Oak High School 6’0” 175 81

154 TE-Y West Chester, OH
Lakota West High School 6’6” 235 81

155 OLB Danville, CA
San Ramon Valley High School 6’4” 220 81

156 OT Toledo, OH
Whitmer High School 6’5” 290 81

157 S Las Vegas, NV
Faith Lutheran High School 6’3” 190 81

158 DT Philadelphia, PA
St. Joseph’s Prep School 6’4” 275 81

159 OG Fairburn, GA
Langston Hughes High School 6’3” 295 81

160 WR Sachse, TX
Sachse High School 6’2” 185 81

161 OLB Spanaway, WA
Bethel High School 6’3” 225 81

162 OT Buford, GA
Buford High School 6’8” 315 81

163 ATH Tampa, FL
Berkeley Prep 6’1” 175 81

164 DT Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 6’4” 285 81

165 WR Geneva, IL
Geneva High School 6’1” 170 81

166 RB Gaithersburg, MD
Quince Orchard High School 5’11” 185 81

167 WR Toms River, NJ
Monsignor Donovan High School 6’0” 185 81

168 DT Cypress, TX
Cy-Fair High School 6’2” 265 81

169 QB-PP Lexington, KY
Lexington Christian Academy 6’5” 210 81

170 WR DeSoto, TX
DeSoto High School 5’11” 170 81

171 RB Tampa Bay, FL
Plant Senior High School 6’2” 195 81

172 OT Houston, TX
Lamar High School 6’6” 305 81

173 CB Miami, FL
Booker T. Washington High School 6’2” 180 81

174 TE-Y Pittsburgh, PA
North Catholic High School 6’6” 235 81

175 OT Boerne, TX
Boerne High School 6’6” 320 81

176 CB Montvale, NJ
Saint Joseph Regional High School 6’1” 185 81

177 WR Pearland, TX
Shadow Creek High School 5’11” 180 81

178 RB Tyler, TX
Chapel Hill High School 5’10” 185 81

179 TE-Y Green Bay, WI
Notre Dame De La Baie Academy 6’5” 225 81

180 OG San Jose, CA
Valley Christian High School 6’4” 325 81

181 WR Scottsdale, AZ
Notre Dame Prepatory 6’2” 190 81

182 DT Bellville, TX
Bellville High School 6’3” 285 81

183 CB Washington, DC
St. John’s College High School 6’0” 175 81

184 WR Pflugerville, TX
Weiss High School 6’1” 170 81

185 QB-PP Orange, CA
Orange Lutheran High School 6’2” 190 81

186 OLB Opelousas, LA
Opelousas High School 6’3” 210 81

187 TE-H Jasper, TX
Jasper High School 6’5” 245 81

188 OT Overland Park, KS
Blue Valley Northwest High School 6’6” 270 80

189 RB Plantation, FL
American Heritage High School 5’10” 185 80

190 TE-H El Dorado Hills, CA
Oak Ridge High School 6’6” 220 80

191 S Miami, FL
Miami Central High School 5’11” 175 80

192 QB-PP Fort Myers, FL
Bishop Verot High School 6’4” 185 80

193 RB Houma, LA
Vandebilt Catholic School 5’8” 165 80

194 OLB Baton Rouge, LA
University Laboratory School 6’2” 220 80

195 DT Oak Park, IL
Fenwick High School 6’4” 265 80

196 DE Hyattsville, MD
DeMatha Catholic High School 6’3” 230 80

197 S Chattanooga, TN
Brainerd High School 6’1” 190 80

198 RB Fort Worth, TX
North Crowley High School 5’10” 175 80

199 DE Port Arthur, TX
Memorial High School 6’3” 240 80

200 ILB Las Vegas, NV
Arbor View High School 6’2” 200 80

201 RB Covington, GA
Newton High School 5’9” 180 80

202 DE Warner Robins, GA
Warner Robins High School 6’5” 250 80

203 QB-PP Harrisburg, PA
Bishop McDevitt High School 6’1” 195 80

204 OT Beverly Hills, MI
Groves High School 6’5” 280 80

205 RB DeSoto, TX
DeSoto High School 5’11” 200 80

206 WR West Bloomfield, MI
West Bloomfield High School 5’11” 175 80

207 OG Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’3” 285 80

208 S Norfolk, VA
Maury High School 6’3” 190 80

209 OLB Pittsburgh, PA
Imani Christian Academy 6’2” 210 80

210 QB-DT Murrieta, CA
Murrieta Valley High School 6’2” 215 80

211 TE-H Calhoun, GA
Calhoun High School 6’2” 230 80

212 RB Shreveport, LA
Calvary Baptist Academy 6’0” 200 80

213 QB-PP Chatsworth, CA
Sierra Canyon High School 6’2” 180 80

214 ILB Culpeper, VA
Eastern View High School 6’2” 220 80

215 CB Murfreesboro, TN
Siegel High School 6’3” 180 80

216 WR Hollywood, FL
Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School 6’2” 185 80

217 QB-DT Little Rock, AR
Robinson High School 6’2” 190 80

218 DT Saraland, AL
Saraland High School 6’2” 270 80

219 OG Nashville, TN
David Lipscomb High School 6’4” 320 80

220 ILB Seminole, FL
Osceola High School 6’2” 225 80

221 CB Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 5’11” 185 80

222 QB-PP Miami, FL
Miami Central High School 6’5” 195 80

223 WR Gautier, MS
Gautier High School 5’11” 180 80

224 CB Indianapolis, IN
Ben Davis High School 6’0” 170 80

225 WR Wayne, NJ
DePaul Catholic High School 6’0” 185 80

226 OG Dyersburg, TN
Dyersburg High School 6’4” 320 80

227 ILB Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’1” 220 80

228 WR Lafayette, LA
Acadiana High School 5’8” 170 80

229 TE-Y Derby, KS
Derby Senior High School 6’5” 225 80

230 S Miami, FL
Belen Jesuit Prep 6’1” 180 80

231 OLB Princeton, NJ
The Hun School Of Princeton 6’1” 215 80

232 DE Shawnee, KS
Mill Valley High School 6’3” 220 80

233 ATH Saint Louis, MO
Cardinal Ritter College Prep 6’0” 185 80

234 QB-PP Severn, MD
Archbishop Spalding High School 6’5” 205 80

235 DE Red Oak, TX
Red Oak High School 6’4” 235 80

236 CB Midwest City, OK
Carl Albert High School 6’2” 170 80

237 OLB Baltimore, MD
St. Frances Academy 6’1” 215 80

238 ILB Auburn, WA
Auburn-Riverside High School 6’0” 195 80

239 WR San Antonio, TX
Brandeis High School 6’1” 175 80

240 DE Wyncote, PA
Cheltenham High School 6’4” 230 80

241 RB The Woodlands, TX
The Woodlands High School 6’0” 185 80

242 OLB Jefferson, GA
Jefferson High School 6’3” 210 80

243 WR The Woodlands, TX
The Woodlands High School 6’0” 175 80

244 DT Overland Park, KS
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School 6’6” 270 80

245 S Wellington, FL
Palm Beach Central High School 6’1” 190 80

246 OT Scottsdale, AZ
Saguaro High School 6’5” 255 79

247 WR Houston, TX
Andy Dekaney High School 6’0” 175 79

248 S Nashville, TN
David Lipscomb High School 6’3” 195 79

249 DT Palatine, IL
Palatine High School 6’6” 280 79

250 DE Chicago, IL
Simeon Career Academy 6’5” 250 79

251 S Spring, TX
Legacy The School of Sport Sciences 6’0” 180 79

252 WR Checotah, OK
Checotah High School 6’1” 185 79

253 DE Concord, CA
De La Salle High School 6’6” 250 79

254 RB North Richland Hills, TX
Richland High School 6’0” 200 79

255 TE-H Orange, CA
Orange Lutheran High School 6’6” 215 79

256 WR Columbia, MS
Columbia High School 6’1” 200 79

257 DE Pittsburg, CA
Pittsburg High School 6’3” 225 79

258 RB Tampa, FL
Jesuit High School 6’0” 190 79

259 CB Rabun Gap, GA
Rabun Gap Nacoochee School 6’2” 175 79

260 TE-H Clear Lake, IA
Clear Lake High School 6’5” 210 79

261 WR Pembroke Pines, FL
West Broward High School 6’3” 210 79

262 DT Melbourne, FL
Eau Gallie High School 6’2” 275 79

263 CB Chatsworth, CA
Sierra Canyon High School 5’11” 165 79

264 ATH Winston-Salem, NC
Mount Tabor High School 6’2” 175 79

265 RB Montvale, NJ
Saint Joseph Regional High School 6’0” 190 79

266 QB-DT Kernersville, NC
East Forsyth High School 6’3” 185 79

267 WR Pembroke Pines, FL
Somerset Academy 6’2” 190 79

268 ATH Hesperia, CA
Sultana High School 6’1” 180 79

269 DE Galveston, TX
Ball High School 6’4” 245 79

270 OT Riverview, FL
Jule F. Sumner High School 6’4” 260 79

271 TE-Y Milton, GA
Milton High School 6’5” 220 79

272 OLB Sanford, FL
Seminole High School 6’2” 195 79

273 DE HIghland Home, AL
Highland Home High School 6’4” 230 79

274 DT Chesterfield, VA
Matoaca High School 6’6” 260 79

275 ATH Lubbock, TX
Estacado High School 6’4” 210 79

276 DE Detroit, MI
Martin Luther King High School 6’5” 220 79

277 CB Atco, NJ
Winslow Township High School 5’11” 165 79

278 QB-PP San Juan Capistrano, CA
JSerra Catholic High School 6’1” 185 79

279 ATH Omaha, NE
Millard North High School 6’0” 190 79

280 WR Richmond, VA
Trinity Episcopal School 6’2” 180 79

281 OG Sanford, FL
Seminole High School 6’5” 285 79

282 RB Wynnewood, OK
Wynnewood High School 5’11” 190 79

283 ILB Miami, FL
Miami Central High School 6’1” 210 79

284 DE Indianapolis, IN
Warren Central High School 6’5” 235 79

285 QB-PP Downey, CA
Warren High School 6’3” 185 79

286 S East Saint Louis, IL
East St. Louis High School 6’2” 190 78

287 OT New Orleans, LA
Isidore Newman School 6’4” 275 78

288 RB Southlake, TX
Carroll High School 5’10” 180 78

289 QB-DT Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy 6’3” 205 78

290 DT Cahokia, IL
Cahokia High School 6’2” 290 78

291 RB Greer, SC
Greer Senior High School 5’10” 180 78

292 OT Slinger, WI
Slinger High School 6’5” 305 78

293 DT Buford, GA
Buford High School 6’2” 280 78

294 ATH College Park, GA
Woodward Academy 5’11” 180 78

295 OLB San Juan Capistrano, CA
San Juan Hills High School 6’2” 225 78

296 WR Miami, FL
Dade Christian High School 6’1” 170 78

297 DE Los Angeles, CA
King Drew Medical Magnet High School 6’2” 220 78

298 RB Aliquippa, PA
Aliquippa High School 5’10” 190 78

299 ATH Germantown, TN
Germantown High School 5’10” 190 78

300 OLB Belleville, MI
Belleville High School 6’0” 205 78

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Red Sox activate 3B Bregman from 10-day IL

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Red Sox activate 3B Bregman from 10-day IL

BOSTON — The Red Sox activated All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman from the 10-day injured list before Friday’s game against Tampa Bay.

Bregman, who has been sidelined since May 24 with a right quad strain, returned to his customary spot in the field and was slotted in the No. 2 spot of Boston’s lineup for the second of a four-game series against the Rays. He sustained the injury when he rounded first base and felt his quad tighten up.

A two-time World Series winner who spent the first nine seasons of his big league career with the Houston Astros, Bregman signed a $120 million, three-year contract in February. At the time of the injury, he was hitting .299 with 11 homers and 35 RBI. Those numbers led to him being named to the American League’s All-Star team for the third time since breaking into the majors with the Astros in 2016.

Bregman missed 43 games with the quad strain. Earlier this week, he told reporters that he was trending in a direction where he didn’t believe he would require a minor league rehab assignment. With three games left before the All-Star break, the Red Sox agreed the time was right to reinstate a player to a team that entered Friday in possession of one of the AL’s three wild-card berths.

“He’s going to do his part,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Friday’s game. “Obviously, the timing, we’ll see where he’s at, but he’s been working hard on the swing … visualizing and watching video.”

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How Jim Abbott changed the world

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How Jim Abbott changed the world

JIM ABBOTT IS sitting at his kitchen table, with his old friend Tim Mead. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they were partners in an extraordinary exercise — and now, for the first time in decades, they are looking at a stack of letters and photographs from that period of their lives.

The letters are mostly handwritten, by children, from all over the United States and Canada, and beyond.

“Dear Mr. Abbott …”

“I have one hand too. … I don’t know any one with one hand. How do you feel about having one hand? Sometimes I feel sad and sometimes I feel okay about it. Most of the time I feel happy.”

“I am a seventh grader with a leg that is turned inwards. How do you feel about your arm? I would also like to know how you handle your problem? I would like to know, if you don’t mind, what have you been called?”

“I can’t use my right hand and most of my right side is paralyzed. … I want to become a doctor and seeing you makes me think I can be what I want to be.”

For 40 years, Mead worked in communications for the California Angels, eventually becoming vice president of media relations. His position in this department became a job like no other after the Angels drafted Abbott out of the University of Michigan in 1988.

There was a deluge of media requests. Reporters from around the world descended on Anaheim, most hoping to get one-on-one time with the young left-handed pitcher with the scorching fastball. Every Abbott start was a major event — “like the World Series,” Angels scout Bob Fontaine Jr. remembers. Abbott, with his impressive amateur résumé (he won the James E. Sullivan Award for the nation’s best amateur athlete in 1997 and an Olympic gold medal in 1988) and his boyish good looks, had star power.

That spring, he had become only the 16th player to go straight from the draft to the majors without appearing in a single minor league game. And then there was the factor that made him unique. His limb difference, although no one called it that back then. Abbott was born without a right hand, yet had developed into one of the most promising pitchers of his generation. He would go on to play in the majors for ten years, including a stint in the mid ’90s with the Yankees highlighted by a no-hitter in 1993.

Abbott, and Mead, too, knew the media would swarm. That was no surprise. There had been swarms in college, and at the Olympics, wherever and whenever Abbott pitched. Who could resist such an inspirational story? But what they hadn’t anticipated were the letters.

The steady stream of letters. Thousands of letters. So many from kids who, like Abbott, were different. Letters from their parents and grandparents. The kids hoping to connect with someone who reminded them of themselves, the first celebrity they knew of who could understand and appreciate what it was like to be them, someone who had experienced the bullying and the feelings of otherness. The parents and grandparents searching for hope and direction.

“I know you don’t consider yourself limited in what you can do … but you are still an inspiration to my wife and I as parents. Your success helps us when talking to Andy at those times when he’s a little frustrated. I’m able to point to you and assure him there’s no limit to what he can accomplish.”

In his six seasons with the Angels, Abbott was assisted by Mead in the process of organizing his responses to the letters, mailing them, and arranging face-to-face meetings with the families who had written to him. There were scores of such meetings. It was practically a full-time job for both of them.

“Thinking back on these meetings with families — and that’s the way I’d put it, it’s families, not just kids — there was every challenge imaginable,” Abbott, now 57, says. “Some accidents. Some birth defects. Some mental challenges that aren’t always visible to people when you first come across somebody. … They saw something in playing baseball with one hand that related to their own experience. I think the families coming to the ballparks were looking for hopefulness. I think they were looking for what it had been that my parents had told me, what it had been that my coaches had told me. … [With the kids] it was an interaction. It was catch. It was smiling. It was an autograph. It was a picture. With the parents, it ran deeper. With the parents, it was what had your parents said to you? What coaches made a difference? What can we expect? Most of all, I think, what can we expect?”

“It wasn’t asking for autographs,” Mead says of all those letters. “They weren’t asking for pictures. They were asking for his time. He and I had to have a conversation because this was going to be unique. You know, you could set up another player to come down and sign 15 autographs for this group or whatever. But it was people, parents, that had kids, maybe babies, just newborn babies, almost looking for an assurance that this is going to turn out all right, you know. ‘What did your parents do? How did your parents handle this?'”

One of the letters Abbott received came from an 8-year-old girl in Windsor, Ontario.

She wrote, “Dear Jim, My name is Tracey Holgate. I am age 8. I have one hand too. My grandpa gave me a picture of you today. I saw you on TV. I don’t know anyone with one hand. How do you feel about having one hand? Sometimes I feel sad and sometimes I feel okay about it. Most of the time I feel happy. I hope to see you play in Detroit and maybe meet you. Could you please send me a picture of you in uniform? Could you write back please? Here is a picture of me. Love, Tracey.”

Holgate’s letter is one of those that has remained preserved in a folder — and now Abbott is reading it again, at his kitchen table, half a lifetime after receiving it. Time has not diminished the power of the letter, and Abbott is wiping away tears.

Today, Holgate is 44 and goes by her married name, Dupuis. She is married with four children of her own. She is a teacher. When she thinks about the meaning of Jim Abbott in her life, it is about much more than the letter he wrote back to her. Or the autographed picture he sent her. It was Abbott, all those years ago, who made it possible for Tracey to dream.

“There was such a camaraderie there,” she says, “an ability to connect with somebody so far away doing something totally different than my 8-year-old self was doing, but he really allowed me to just feel that connection, to feel that I’m not alone, there’s other people that have differences and have overcome them and been successful and we all have our own crosses, we all have our own things that we’re carrying and it’s important to continue to focus on the gifts that we have, the beauty of it.

“I think sometimes differences, disabilities, all those things can be a gift in a package we would never have wanted, because they allow us to be people that have an empathetic heart, an understanding heart, and to see the pain in the people around us.”

Now, years after Abbott’s career ended, he continues to inspire.

Among those he influenced, there are professional athletes, such as Shaquem Griffin, who in 2018 became the first NFL player with one hand. Griffin, now 29, played three seasons at linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks.

Growing up in Florida, he would watch videos of Abbott pitching and fielding, over and over, on YouTube.

“The only person I really looked up to was Jim Abbott at the time,” Griffin says, “which is crazy, because I didn’t know anybody else to look up to. I didn’t know anybody else who was kind of like me. And it’s funny, because when I was really little, I used to be like, ‘Why me? Why this happen to me?’ And I used to be in my room thinking about that. And I used to think to myself, ‘I wonder if Jim Abbott had that same thought.'”

Carson Pickett was born on Sept. 15, 1993 — 11 days after Abbott’s no-hitter. Missing most of her left arm below the elbow, she became, in 2022, the first player with a limb difference to appear for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.

She, too, says that Abbott made things that others told her were impossible seem attainable.

“I knew I wanted to be a professional soccer player,” says Pickett, who is currently playing for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride. “To be able to see him compete at the highest level it gave me hope, and I think that that kind of helped me throughout my journey. … I think ‘pioneer’ would be the best word for him.”

Longtime professional MMA fighter Nick Newell is 39, old enough to have seen Abbott pitch for the Yankees. In fact, when Newell was a child he met Abbott twice, first at a fan event at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and then on a game day at Yankee Stadium. Newell was one of those kids with a limb difference — like Griffin and Pickett, due to amniotic band syndrome — who idolized Abbott.

“And I didn’t really understand the gravity of what he was doing,” Newell says now, “but for me, I saw someone out there on TV that looked like I did. And I was the only other person I knew that had one hand. And I saw this guy out here playing baseball and it was good to see somebody that looked like me, and I saw him in front of the world.

“He was out there like me and he was just living his life and I think that I owe a lot of my attitude and the success that I have to Jim just going out there and being the example of, ‘Hey, you can do this. Who’s to say you can’t be a professional athlete?’ He’s out there throwing no-hitters against the best baseball players in the world. So, as I got older, ‘Why can’t I wrestle? Why can’t I fight? Why can’t I do this?’ And then it wasn’t until the internet that I heard people tell me I can’t do these things. But by then I had already been doing those things.”

Griffin.

Pickett.

Newell.

Just three of the countless kids who were inspired by Jim Abbott.

When asked if it ever felt like too much, being a role model and a hero, all the letters and face-to-face meetings, Abbott says no — but it wasn’t always easy.

“I had incredible people who helped me send the letters,” he says. “I got a lot more credit sometimes than I deserved for these interactions, to be honest with you. And that happened on every team, particularly with my friend Tim Mead. There was a nice balance to it. There really was. There was a heaviness to it. There’s no denying. There were times I didn’t want to go [to the meetings]. I didn’t want to walk out there. I didn’t want to separate from my teammates. I didn’t want to get up from the card game. I didn’t want to put my book down. I liked where I was at. I was in my environment. I was where I always wanted to be. In a big league clubhouse surrounded by big league teammates. In a big league stadium. And those reminders of being different, I slowly came to realize were never going to go away.”

But being different was the thing that made Abbott more than merely a baseball star. For many people, he has been more than a role model, more than an idol. He is the embodiment of hope and belonging.

“I think more people need to realize and understand the gift of a difference,” Dupuis says. “I think we have to just not box everybody in and allow everybody’s innate light to shine, and for whatever reasons we’ve been created to be here, [let] that light shine in a way that it touches everybody else. Because I think that’s what Jim did. He allowed his light to permeate and that light, in turn, lit all these little children’s lights all over the world, so you have this boom of brightness that’s happening and that’s uncontrollable, that’s beautiful.”

“Southpaw – The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott,” a new edition of ESPN’s “E60,” debuts Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN; extended version streaming afterward on ESPN+.

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Cubs’ PCA on track for $1.1M from bonus pool

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Cubs' PCA on track for .1M from bonus pool

NEW YORK — Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is projected to receive the largest amount from this season’s $50 million pre-arbitration bonus pool based on his regular-season statistics.

Crow-Armstrong is on track to get $1,091,102, according to WAR calculations through July 8 that Major League Baseball sent to teams, players and agents in a memo Friday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

He earned $342,128 from the pool in 2024.

“I was aware of it after last year, but I have no clue of the numbers,” he said Friday. “I haven’t looked at it one time.”

Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes is second at $961,256, followed by Washington outfielder James Wood ($863,835), Arizona outfielder Corbin Carroll ($798,397), Houston pitcher Hunter Brown ($786,838), Philadelphia pitcher Cristopher Sánchez ($764,854), Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz ($717,479), Boston catcher Carlos Narváez ($703,007), Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela ($685,366) and Detroit outfielder Riley Greene ($665,470).

Crow-Armstrong, Skenes, Wood, Carroll, Brown, De La Cruz and Greene have been picked for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

A total of 100 players will receive the payments, established as part of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement and aimed to get more money to players without sufficient service time for salary arbitration eligibility. The cutoff for 2025 was 2 years, 132 days of major league service.

Players who signed as foreign professionals are excluded.

Most young players have salaries just above this year’s major league minimum of $760,000. Crow-Armstrong has a $771,000 salary this year, Skenes $875,000, Wood $764,400 and Brown $807,400.

Carroll is in the third season of a $111 million, eight-year contract.

As part of the labor agreement, a management-union committee was established that determined the WAR formula used to allocate the bonuses after awards. (A player may receive only one award bonus per year, the highest one he is eligible for.) The agreement calls for an interim report to be distributed the week before the All-Star Game.

Distribution for awards was $9.85 million last year, down from $11.25 million in 2022 and $9.25 million in 2023.

A player earns $2.5 million for winning an MVP or Cy Young award, $1.75 million for finishing second, $1.5 million for third, $1 million for fourth or fifth or for making the All-MLB first team. A player can get $750,000 for winning Rookie of the Year, $500,000 for second or for making the All-MLB second team, $350,000 for third in the rookie race, $250,000 for fourth or $150,000 for fifth.

Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. topped last year’s pre-arbitration bonus pool at $3,077,595, and Skenes was second at $2,152,057 despite not making his big league debut until May 11. Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson was third at $2,007,178.

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