Jim Abbott stepped up to the microphone to raucous applause, a huge grin on his face. Stopping at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor to promote his new autobiography Imperfect: An Improbable Life, Abbott looked out at the over overflowing crowd and said, "This is great. I was just hoping a few people showed up who weren't in my family."

His modesty was amiable - the bookstore, its shelves cleared to set out chairs, was standing room only. A Nicola's Books employee said that, for a popular author appearance, they might sell 80 or 90 copies. Abbott signed more than 250 books for about 300 fans.

The crowd was comprised of a wide swath of people. There were young children in baseball attire, adults in Michigan athletics garb, women in shirts that read, "Ten Fingers Are Overrated," and even a family from Pittsburgh who had driven to Ann Arbor just to see Abbott. Michigan baseball coach Rich Maloney and director of equipment operations Jon Falk showed up, too, all inspired by Abbott's story, the rise of a Flint, Mich. native who was born without a hand on his right arm, to Michigan baseball all-star, to Major League Baseball pitcher.

Abbott, who now lives in California, was clearly excited to be back in Southeastern Michigan.

"Whenever I tell people about where I'm from, I say, 'I'm from the great town of Flint," Abbott addressed the crowd. "And it was great, to grow up there. Early on in my life, I figured out that I was different. But I received all the support in the world from the people of Flint, from the earliest time in my career."

Abbott then brought a kid up to the front and showed him how he would flip his glove across his body in order to field and throw balls.

After regaling the audience with anecdotes about his baseball career, Abbott finished his speech with a story about his time at his daughter's preschool Take Your Parent To School Day. Near the end of his time in front of the class, his daughter raised he hand and asked, "Daddy, do you like your little hand?"

The question, he said, took him aback. He'd never thought of it.

"You know, honey, I do," he said. "There were a lot of times in my life when I didn't, but it's who I am."

Afterwards, Abbott sat down, signed books, posters and baseballs and chatting with the hundreds of fans who came out to see him.

"It means the world, to be back in Ann Arbor," Abbott said after the signing. "It came out, and I was overwhelmed by the turnout. I saw a lot of people I knew in the past, and I met a lot of new people. It was great.

"It's amazing, especially so long after my career is over. I didn't know what to expect. When I asked [co-author] Tim Brown if he wanted to help write it, I honestly said, 'We might self-publish this thing, because I don't know if anyone will want to do this thing.' Those are the expectations we took into it. We weren't trying to sell a bunch - we wanted to do things the right way, and when it got picked up, we were thrilled. When we saw the finished product, we were thrilled again. And now to see the reception for it, we're thrilled again. Our heart was in the right place, and hopefully people pick up on that."

Abbott said that writing a book wasn't always something he wanted to do - but, as he has grown older and began a budding career as a motivational speaker, he slowly formed the message he wanted to convey.

"I was approached about writing a book for a long time, when I was playing," he said. "I wanted to be the best baseball player I could be - and I'm glad I didn't write it back then, because it's such a final process. That's what I learned about it; what you say in the book is what you'll be held to for a long time. I'm glad I waited until I was sure of what I wanted to say.

"I found a great partner to write it with in Tim Brown, who's a great writer. I was a fan of his, and he wanted to do it with me. I felt removed enough from my career that I could be honest about things that I wouldn't have been able to say 10-12 years ago about my upbringing, about growing up differently. I wouldn't have been able to write about those things before.

"I want people to enjoy it, first and foremost. I'd like people to have fun, because the baseball side is really interesting. Tim knows baseball inside and out and knew most of the people in the book, so he was able to fill in a lot of the blanks. The no-hitter is fun, too. And, above that, I want people to believe in what is possible. If a kid from Flint, Mich. can grow up to pitch a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium, then there are a lot of possibilities for people out there."

-- Imperfect: An Improbable Life is available in bookstores nationwide.