It’s hard to think of a more incredible story than Jim Abbott’s career in baseball. Born without a right arm, he defied the odds with a highly successful career that peaked with a no-hitter when he was with the Yankees.

Abbott, along with Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown, wrote about his experiences in a new book: Imperfect: An Improbable Life.

In an interview with Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News, Abbott talks about the meaning of using imperfect in the book’s title.

Q:I wondered that if, in dealing with so many people now in and out of baseball, have you figured out that most, if not everyone, is imperfect and may be leading their own improbable lives?

A:Yes, yes. That’s a great observation. It goes back to the title, and how the no-hitter (in ’93 against Cleveland) was far from perfect. There were five walks.

There were some hard-hit balls. It was a struggle and a fight. And it encompasses my family story, physically how I grew up.

Really what’s striking to me, in talking to friends and people close to me who have read it: Everyone deals with imperfection and how we sometimes look back on things and our lives and have these harsh tones.

That was the discovery for me with being “imperfect,” you know, sometimes I just kept moving on with the experience and thinking back on my career as being less than what I wanted it to be.

The no-hitter was great, but not perfect. And examining it even closer through the book, it was worth looking at in a more gentle way. A more accepting way. The effort was there, and I did my best.

Q:And in the end, who really is perfect? No one.

A: Exactly. Aren’t we all?

If you live in Chicago, Abbott will be making an appearance Tuesday with ChicagoSide editor Jonathan Eig. Here is a link with the details.

The book has received much praise. Here are some of the comments on Amazon:

“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.” —Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr.

“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.”—Don Mattingly, former New York Yankee captain and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager

“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.”—Mark Kriegel, author of Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich and Namath: A Biography

“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.”—Ian O’Connor, New York Times bestselling author of The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter and Arnie & Jack

“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.”—Tom Verducci, senior writer for Sports Illustrated and New York Times bestselling co-author of The Yankee Years

“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.”—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