When most people talk about Michael Jordan’s legacy, they immediately point to his six NBA titles in a Bulls jersey, his iconic dunk contest, or the shoe empire he helped build with his play. His stint as a baseball player for the Birmingham Barons, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, is forgotten, outside of those who use it as a punchline. MJ tried his luck in baseball during his first retirement from 1993-95.
Advertisement
After his first three-peat in the NBA and the loss of his father, Jordan felt disconnected from basketball. In search of a new challenge and to fulfill his father’s dream, he focused his efforts on baseball. However, he wasn’t nearly as good in the diamond as he was on the hardwood.
But, it almost didn’t matter to him at the time. For Jordan, the baseball world offered something the basketball court no longer did at the time: rejuvenation. During a 2007 interview with GQ, the NBA legend revealed that baseball gave him the spark that he was looking for as an athlete.
“I look back at that as very successful.” he remembered fondly “The media was looking at stats. I started to improve in the second half of that season. And I would have never stopped if it wasn’t for the [1994 baseball] strike, which drove me away.”
Being around minor league players when he was the biggest name in basketball was a unique experience for MJ. He saw athletes giving their all just for the love of the game and sheer belief in themselves. It stuck with him.
“But what baseball provided was the energy of camaraderie, to see guys go out and do things they have love in their hearts for, even though they’re not getting paid a lot.” said Jordan, “That rejuvenated me as an athlete.”
Although he ended up coming back to the NBA due to his fear of not reaching the heights he promised his father in baseball, he got the inspiration he needed to take over the league he had once controlled all over again.
Baseball was Michael Jordan’s first love
Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, didn’t want to become a professional basketball player at first. In his early days, he used to play almost exclusively baseball. Surprisingly, becoming a professional athlete wasn’t within his expectations. Jordan just played, as most children do, because he loved it so much.
“I have envisioned myself playing as a kid, playing professional baseball because I started baseball when I was six years old, and I had most of my success as a child in baseball, and I really didn’t have my success at basketball until in my later years.” he once said. “I never chased that dream of becoming a professional basketball player or even a professional baseball player.”
Jordan would become both a professional basketball and baseball player, as we all know, and is one of the most successful businessman to ever play sports for a living. Chasing a dream or not, things surely worked out for MJ.
