Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports (11 page)

In mid-July of 1993, Michael Jordan’s father, James, left the family home in North Carolina to visit some friends who lived
several hours away. He was driving the brand-new car that Michael had given him. His son’s success had allowed him to retire,
and James loved to get away by himself. He told his family he would return home in a few days.

A few days passed, and James Jordan did not return. Deloris Jordan began to worry. She hadn’t heard from James. While it was
not unusual for him to spend several days away from home without calling, as those days stretched into a week, the Jordan
family became concerned.

They called everyone they knew but couldn’t locate James. They even contacted the North Carolina State Police and asked them
to keep an eye out
for James and his car. The media learned that James Jordan was missing, and soon every news broadcast in the state opened
with news of his disappearance.

Michael Jordan left Chicago and returned to North Carolina to be close to his family. He was very concerned. James Jordan
had been more than a father to Michael. He was also his best friend. James went to almost every Bulls game and often traveled
with the team. Michael’s teammates had gotten to know James and loved him. When Michael went into a slump or got into trouble,
his father was still the first person he went to for advice.

The Jordans sat around the family home, waiting. Every time the phone rang, they jumped, half hoping to hear James Jordan’s
voice on the other end of the line, half fearing the call would bring bad news.

When they finally got that call, it was the worst news possible. Mr. Jordan’s car had been discovered, stripped and abandoned.
A body had been found in a creek nearby.

It was James Jordan. From what police could piece together, James had apparently pulled off the highway late at night to take
a nap. He had been attacked. Two 18-year-old boys were soon arrested
and charged with James Jordan’s murder. Police believed the two boys first robbed, then killed James Jordan.

Michael Jordan was devastated. In an instant, his life had changed. The family held a private, quiet funeral, and Michael
went into seclusion. No one heard from him for weeks, though they all expected to see him when the Bulls training camp opened
in early October.

Then, October 6, 1993, the Chicago Bulls called a press conference. Just before the conference began, a rumor leaked out that
shocked everyone.

Michael Jordan was retiring from basketball!

It was true. Michael and his wife took their places before the microphones at the press conference, and Michael tried to explain
why he was retiring.

“I have nothing more to prove in basketball,” he said. “I have no more challenges.

“The death of my father made me realize how short life is. I want to give more time to my family.”

Despite all the fame and glory his talents had brought him, sometimes it was hard being Michael Jordan. In 1989, he and Juanita
had had their first child, a son they named Jeffrey. Two years later
another son, Marcus, was born. And in 1992, the couple had a daughter, Jasmine. Michael wanted to spend some time with his
family and watch his children grow.

Reporters questioned Michael about his decision. When they asked him if he would ever “un-retire” and return to basketball,
Michael just laughed and said, “I never said never.” With that, Michael Jordan left the press conference. His basketball career
seemed to be over.

At the time of his retirement, there was no question that Michael was one of the best players in NBA history. Only Wilt Chamberlain
had been a more prolific scorer, and only the Celtics of the 1960s had won more championships. Perhaps Michael was right.
There wasn’t much left for him to prove.

But Michael Jordan had a hard time staying retired. He was simply too competitive to sit around or just play golf all day
long. Although he loved being with his family, before too long Michael Jordan started considering making a comeback to the
world of professional sports.

But it would not be the comeback all NBA fans were hoping for. Michael Jordan the basketball
player wanted to become Michael Jordan the baseball player.

A baseball player? Michael hadn’t played baseball since he was a kid. But he and his father had often talked about the possibility,
and Michael later said he’d almost left basketball for baseball a few years earlier. Both Michael and his father had wondered
how good Michael would have been at baseball if basketball hadn’t come along. Now that his father was gone, Michael Jordan
decided to find out.

CHAPTER TEN
1994–1995

Late in 1993, Michael Jordan asked Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owned the Chicago White Sox baseball team, if he
could work out with other White Sox players at Comiskey Park. Reinsdorf agreed.

At first, Michael’s workouts were a secret, but soon word slipped out that Michael Jordan was considering trading hoops for
hardball. When asked, Michael just laughed off the reports and told the press he was simply having fun.

In reality, Michael was testing himself. Hitting against a batting machine under the stands at Comiskey Park, he was trying
to learn if he really had the skills to play baseball.

After a month, he had his answer. In January of 1994, Michael called a press conference and announced he was signing with
the Chicago White Sox.

“This is something that has been in the back of my mind for a long time,” he said to the reporters, “and something that my
father and I talked about often.”

Michael wasn’t the first professional athlete to play two sports. Both Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders played pro football and
baseball. Years earlier, star forward Dave Debusschere of the New York Knicks had pitched for the White Sox, and pitcher Gene
Conley of the Phillies and Red Sox had played forward for the Celtics.

But none of those other players had ever stopped playing. No one had ever quit one sport to resume playing a sport he’d given
up 15 years before. Michael Jordan wasn’t like anyone else.

The press scoffed at Michael’s announcement. Some speculated that he was just trying to get his name in the paper. Others
thought he was being silly. They didn’t think anyone, not even a great athlete like Michael Jordan, could make himself into
a professional baseball player just because he wanted to. Only a few people thought if anyone could, it was Michael Jordan.

Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf was one of those people. “Michael likes challenges,” he said. “He likes to do what
people say he can’t do.”

Michael Jordan tried to answer his critics, saying, “All I want is a chance to fulfill a dream. If I don’t have the skills,
I’ll walk away from baseball.”

Michael joined the White Sox at spring training in Florida. The first time he stepped onto the field in public, he was the
biggest story in baseball.

Michael hoped to be able to skip the minor leagues and go directly to the White Sox. But after only a few days of spring training,
it became clear that that wasn’t going to happen.

The great baseball player Ted Williams once said that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. If that wasn’t
exactly true, Michael Jordan was proving that hitting a baseball wasn’t very easy, either.

While Michael could run and play the outfield, he discovered he had a lot to learn about hitting. The White Sox let Michael
play a few exhibition games, but he collected only 3 hits in 20 tries. When they sent him to play in minor league exhibitions,
he didn’t do much better.

Still, the fact that he could hit at all was encouraging. If he continued to improve, maybe he could play in the major leagues.
In the Windy City Classic on April 7, the White Sox played the crosstown Cubs
in an exhibition game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Michael Jordan went 2–5 with two runs batted in (RBIs). He was getting better.
After the game, the White Sox assigned him to play for their Double A farm team, the Birmingham (Alabama) Barons in the Southern
League.

At age 31, Michael Jordan was the oldest member of the Barons by far. Most of his teammates were in their teens and early
twenties. The first few days he was with the team, his teammates were in awe of him and didn’t know what to say.

Michael broke the ice with hard work. As soon as his teammates saw that he worked as hard or even harder than they did, and
that he didn’t complain about the long bus rides between cities or the fast food they sometimes had to eat on the run, they
accepted him. Soon, he was plain old Michael Jordan, outfielder and teammate, instead of Michael Jordan, basketball superstar.

Michael played right field for the Barons. After going 0-for-3 in his first official game on April 8, he collected his first
base hit two days later, a single.

The hit sparked a 13-game hitting streak, during which Michael hit .378. All of a sudden, it looked as
if Michael Jordan just might play himself into the big leagues!

But after his quick start, Michael cooled off. Soon, his batting average hovered around .200. He was playing well in the field,
and when he got on base, he was one of the best base stealers in the league, but he was having trouble hitting. Despite his
size and strength, even when he did hit the ball, he usually got only a single.

Michael struggled through much of the season. Toward the end of July, he was hitting only .193. Everyone was saying that Michael
Jordan just couldn’t cut it as a baseball player.

Then, on July 30, Michael hit his first home run. Later in the same game, he knocked a double. The next day, he pounded out
two more hits.

He continued to hit well for the rest of the season. He hit two more home runs and after hitting .260 for August, finished
the year with an average of .202, with 3 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases. Proving he still knew how to play during
crunch time no matter what the sport, Michael Jordan was the best clutch hitter on the team.

After the season, some people expected Michael Jordan to give up on baseball. Even Michael admitted
that his first season had been “tough, very tough,” and that “this game is very humbling.” He knew he was a long way from
making the major leagues and added, “I’m not sure I can play at that level.” But he seemed determined to finish what he had
started.

In the off-season, he gave fans in Chicago an opportunity to see him play basketball again. Old Chicago Stadium, the arena
where the Bulls had played so successfully under Michael Jordan’s leadership, was being torn down and replaced by the new
United Center. Michael agreed to play in a charity game with other NBA players to mark the closing of the old building.

Despite not having played a serious game of basketball in over a year, as soon as Michael stepped onto the court, it was as
if he had never left. Although the game was just played for fun, and no one played much defense, he still scored 52 points.
When Michael left the Chicago Stadium court for the last time, he knelt down and kissed it.

Some fans hoped the game would spark Michael’s interest in a return to the NBA. But when the Bulls opened the 1994–95 season
in October, Michael Jordan was still a baseball player.

Even without him, the Bulls were still a very good basketball team. Scottie Pippen stepped up as team leader, and any team
with Pippen and Horace Grant was still capable of beating anyone. They had made the playoffs in the 1993–94 season, eventually
losing to a very good Knicks team in the conference finals. The 1994–95 season promised to be another good one for the Bulls.

Meanwhile, major-league baseball was in turmoil. In the fall of 1994, the players had gone on strike. When they failed to
reach a salary agreement with major-league baseball owners, the 1994 World Series was canceled.

The two sides argued all winter without settling their differences. When spring training opened, the players were still on
strike.

Most major-league teams, including the White Sox, decided to field teams of replacement players if the major leaguers didn’t
return. In February of 1995, Michael Jordan again went to spring training with the Chicago White Sox. His was the most familiar
face there. A few weeks into camp, just as the exhibition season was due to begin, the White Sox asked him to become a replacement
player.