October 6, 1993, is often remembered as the day Michael Jordan stepped away from his basketball throne for the first time. What many fans overlook is that MJ also threw his first baseball pitch just the night before his historic NBA retirement.
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On October 5, 1993, the Bulls legend was invited to Comiskey Park to throw the ceremonial first pitch of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Chicago White Sox and the defending champions, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jordan, fresh off winning his NBA three-peat, gave it his all. However, his pitch didn’t reach the home plate. The ball bounced before hopping onto the catcher’s glove. Despite this less-than-perfect effort, the city cheered for their hero. MJ soon headed to the private box to sit alongside the Bulls’ and White Sox’s owner, Jerry Reinsdorf.
A recent Instagram post from TROPHY ROOM resurfaced moments of this memorable instance. The buzz around the upload caught Marcus Jordan’s attention. This even prompted him to endorse his father by sharing the post on his story.
Marcus Jordan remembers the night before MJ’s first retirement pic.twitter.com/RjdNHGoseI
— Ballerz Worldwide (@ballaznba) September 10, 2024
Over the years, it became clear that Jordan‘s guest appearance had underlying intentions. During this game, he reportedly informed Reinsdorf of his decision to retire from basketball to pursue a baseball career. This also marked the beginning of his journey to fulfill his late father James’s wish for him to become an MLB star.
Upon his request, Reinsdorf took a chance on MJ. The 30-year-old Jordan with no prior professional baseball experience suited up for the White Sox’s Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons. Despite achieving a respectable .200 batting average, his baseball career lacked consistency. It soon became evident that MJ had arrived in the game too late to flourish.
He decided to return to basketball after a 21-month-long hiatus. On March 19, 1995, he announced his comeback in a two-word fax, “I’m back”. Thus began his journey back to the mountaintop. After a setback against the Orlando Magic in that year’s Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Bulls regrouped under MJ’s leadership.
They repeated history in the following three campaigns by achieving another three-peat. Jordan remained the cornerstone throughout this remarkable run, cementing an unparalleled NBA legacy.
