Michael Jordan’s name and fame weren’t enough to bail out his White Sox double-A teammate from a speeding ticket!
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Michael Jordan’s greatness is undeniable. He is widely considered by most fans as the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. While today’s generation worships LeBron James, Jordan’s impact on the NBA is still as dominant.
Basketball, however, wasn’t the only sport ‘His Airness’ played professionally. His famous stint with Chicago White Sox’s double-A affiliate Birmingham Barons turned Jordan into perhaps the most famous minor league player ever.
His quick feet allowed him to be a talented base runner. inverIn his one year in the league, he registered 30 stolen bases and 3 home runs. A stat no other professional NBA player has come close to registering.
Although Michael Jordan was a humble baseball player who respected and supported his coaches and teammates, his fame did rub off on some of Barons’ players wrong.
Also Read: Dwyane Wade explains why $1.7 billion worth Michael Jordan will be forgotten, despite 6 titles
Mike Bertotti, who represented White Sox in MLB for three seasons, was a 24-year-old pitcher when Jordan left Chicago Bulls to pursue baseball. In an interview in 2020, Bertotti confessed to dropping his teammate’s name in order to elude a speeding ticket.
Bertotti: “I said, ‘listen, sir, I apologize that I’m going a little fast. I gotta report to the Birmingham Barons baseball team, I just got promoted.” He continued, “I even showed him my White Sox equipment bag in my backseat. I said, ‘I’m going to play with Michael Jordan. Obviously you know Michael Jordan.“
Michael Jordan’s stint with the White Sox’s minor league affiliate paved the way for his second three-peat
The unbearable burden of losing his father and the unavoidable media scrutiny drove the 14-time All-Star away from basketball. The most extraordinary talent the world had ever seen decided to quit basketball and start a career in baseball at the age of 30.
While he definitely had potential in baseball, he chose to return to NBA after only a season in the minor leagues. The revitalized Michael Jordan who had proven his might as a baseball player returned to the court with a vengeance.
But vengeance wasn’t enough to give him a fairytale return season. Loaded with baseball muscles, ‘His Airness’ appeared in only 17 games in 1995 and managed to average 26.9 points per game. The Bulls won only 47 games that season and lost Eastern Conference Semifinals to Orlando Magic.
He was back to his former glory the very next season. The trio of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman led Chicago Bulls to their second three-peat in just 8 years. And though he retired again following the 97-98 season, Michael Jordan never went back to playing baseball professionally.
Also Read: Michael Jordan’s teammate sells his 3-peat rings for $297,000
