Michael Jordan was the most successful basketball player of all time. There’s no question about that. With the rise of the Last Dance, MJ’s baseball career has been receiving a lot of attention as of late.
The first thing to know about MJ’s baseball career is that he was never going to succeed. Sure he had talent, but expectations weigh down on people. Plus he was rushed up to AA. He was set up for failure.
Probably the most well known game of Jordan’s career was an exhibition game vs the Cubs. That game, he went 2-5 as the Cubs and the White Sox tied 4-4 in 10 innings. He batted 6th and started at RF. But still, he did what many couldn’t. He played in an MLB game, albeit an exhibition. But still, Michael Jordan had played an MLB game.
When MJ actually played in AA, he was terrible. In 127 games, he slashed .202/.289/..266 with 3 HR. He did have 30 SB, but he was CS 18 times. He patrolled the OF on a team that Steve Sax also played on. Well, it he was 34 years old, and his athleticism wasn’t what it used to be. But still, MJ played with Steve Sax.
There are some positives to playing baseball. He can say that he was a multi sport athlete. Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders would be proud. He can say that he hit a professional home run. And he can also take away the pride of being in the White Sox organization.
But in the end, he was bound to go back to the NBA. He was meant for it. He was a basketball star at heart, and he loved the game too much to give up on it.