Michael Jordan was on top of the world in 1993. He had just won three back-to-back NBA championships, and there was no stopping him or his Chicago Bulls. However, an off-court tragedy turned his life upside down. His dad, James, was murdered, and the tragedy hit Michael hard. To fulfill his dad’s wish of seeing his son playing pro baseball, MJ left the NBA’s glamour behind to start from scratch in the Minor Leagues.
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Jordan didn’t leave Chicago. He signed a contract with the White Sox (also owned by Bulls boss Jerry Reinsdorf), who sent him down to the Birmingham Barons, the MLB outfit’s double-A affiliate. And while Jordan did show flashes of greatness, he wasn’t as legendary on the field as he was on the court.
He returned to the Bulls in 1995 after a solitary season (1994) in baseball and went on to win three more rings with the team. But even when he was away, he was never truly distant from basketball, something that left many in the Chicago squad scratching their heads.
Steve Kerr has spoken about how Jordan regularly attended Bulls practice sessions even while he was a baseball rookie. MJ remained as competitive as ever and often took part in scrimmages. But it was his full return midway through the 1994–95 season, with just 17 games left to play, that truly stunned the roster.
“It was incredible, it was surreal really,” Kerr said on the Tom Tolbert show. “So, he came back with 17 games left in the season. It was like out of nowhere. He just shows up to practice and scrimmages with us one day, and everyone’s like, ‘what the hell is going on here?'”
“Then a couple of days later, he’s like [he] sends out the fax. I’m back,” the Warriors’ Head Coach added.
Jordan was already a GOAT in the NBA before his return. So for Kerr and others in the team to rub shoulders with Jordan was a surreal feeling, one they couldn’t quite wrap their heads around for the remainder of the season. Sadly, it wasn’t the glorious homecoming the Bulls faithful were hoping for.
Jordan’s arrival boosted them. But he had to slowly condition himself back to the physical demands of the NBA. Chicago got to the play-offs, beat Charlotte in the first round, but unfortunately, fell to Orlando in six games.
Did Michael Jordan shine in baseball?
In hindsight, the return to basketball was the right move for Jordan. He, some would agree, went from being one of the best to the GOAT by winning three more titles and countless more accolades.
At the same time, calling his baseball stint a failure would be a mistake. With a batting average of 0.2, three home runs, and 30 stolen bases in 127 games, Jordan was solid. Ex-NFL star Ed Smith, who also left football to take part in baseball around the same time, shared the nets with the Bulls legend and vouched for his talent.
Smith, who was tied to the Cubs, stated, “I watched him hit .200 at that level. For him to hit .200, people are like, ‘He failed.’ I’m telling you, there are not many people on this planet who can stay away from the game as long as he did, then in one season at Double-A. That is not easy to do.”
That said, for us basketball fans, it’s great that Jordan got back to light up the NBA for another few years.
