-David S.-

The greatest basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan, took a swing at professional baseball.   I decided to write a article about him since he has turned fifty years old.  A half a century???  Could that be????  On October 6, 1993, in Michael’s prime, he retired from an illustrious basketball career, to play baseball.   I know what you’re thinking. You’re impressed with my vocab……”illustrious”.  Holla!!!  Jordan has said that this decision was made in order to pursue the dream of his  late father, who was murdered.  He surprised the entire world by retiring.  He signed a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox double A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons.  It’s no coincidence that the same owner owned both the White Sox and the Chicago Bulls.  This may have made it easier for Jordan to sign with a baseball team.  I still would’ve been interested in him just seeing how natural an athlete he is.  Batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in,           30 stolen bases, and  11 errors, Jordan simply wasn’t all that good.  He then played in the Arizona Fall League batting .252 against baseball’s top prospects, not all that bad.  Then, in the 1994-1995 season, Jordan called it quits for baseball and went back to the Bulls and basketball.  Michael had a two word press conference saying, “I’m back.” Short, sweet, memorable.

Michael Jordan may have not been the best baseball player, but could he have?  I wonder what would’ve happened if he solely focused on baseball and never stepped into basketball.  Michael is probably one of the world’s greatest athletes.  Could he have been one of the most talked about baseball players to this day?  Could we have talked about the records broken, a flawless swing, amazing defense?  Who knows?  Perhaps he could’ve been a star in baseball.  I guess we’ll never know….

Imagine how shocked you would be if you heard someone like LeBron James, Chris Paul, or Kevin Durant all of a sudden retiring and playing baseball.  What would be the first things that go in your mind?  Would you think they are crazy?  I would be so shocked if this happened.

Baseball isn’t easy.  It requires  specific repetition, muscle memory and concentration.  Michael, you are the man when it comes to hoops.  You are an even bigger man that you can look back fondly and laugh on your baseball career.

Moral of the story………You never know until you try!