Not awards and accolades, but baseball surely earned some lasting connections for Michael Jordan. What led to MJ leaving basketball also acted as a source of inspiration for entry into baseball. After his father was killed in 1993, the Chicago Bulls star lost all desire to play the game, and thus came the retirement announcement. But what came as a next shock was his decision to move to baseball. Notably, this decision was born out of Mike’s father’s desire to watch his son as a baseball player.
Though he left the NBA, it seems he did not want to break all ties associated with the league. Jordan signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox — a franchise owned by the Chicago Bulls owner — and thus began his Minor Baseball League journey. By 1994, Mike got the chance to play for the White Sox’s Double-A minor league affiliate, Birmingham Barons. During this time, it was former Major League Baseball star Terry Francona, who was the one managing Birmingham Barons. What started off with a professional commitment of Francona managing MJ, later developed into a connection that lasted even after Jordan’s exit from the baseball scenario.
A closer look at Michael Jordan’s connection with Francona during the Birmingham Barons phase
Francona, telling ESPN in 2020 that his experience with MJ was his “best learning experience” reflects the value the said connection held for ‘Tito’ even after decades had passed. As per Francona, this used to be the time when even radio coverage was enough for Double-A managers. But the Chicago Bulls star brought a lot of attention from national media as well. “I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the best learning experience I could ever be put into. At the time, I was just trying to survive. But when you look back on it, you couldn’t be put into a better learning experience,” Francona told ESPN.
The Michael Jordan and Terry Francona bond may have had started professionally, but in no time it was the two of them playing golf with each other. During a recent appearance at Newport Marriott, ‘Tito’ mentioned himself to be an avid golf player. He further mentioned how he went from playing public courses to really nice country clubs with Mike. “There wasn’t a course we didn’t play… I remember going to TPC Sawgrass. We were in the car and I was like, ‘MJ, what time is our tee time?’ He’s like, ‘Whatever time we get there,’” he said.
Whether it be baseball, golf course, or instances of pickup basketball games, MJ and Tito were hanging out everywhere. But no matter what Francona may have said about Jordan earning an MLB spot in 3 years, the fact of the matter was that the 5x NBA champ was not having as impressive a run at baseball. In 121 games with Birmingham, he accumulated a .202 batting average, 51 runs batted in, and 3 home runs.
Michael Jordan tried his hands at baseball playing in the Arizona league as well, but the remaining 1994 season itself got canceled. And as destiny would have it, ‘His Airness’ returned to the NBA to his former team. But was this an end to his connection with Francona?
The time Terry Francona went to MJ’s game after his return to the NBA
Speaking to WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche, ‘Tito’ had stated his relationship with Mike was great, but that never got him the tickets to his games. The former MLB star recalled buying one on his own for Jordan going against the Indiana Pacers. “I didn’t want to bother him because I saw how he lived his life. I got tickets for me, [Brad Mills], and another coach. We were sitting 10 rows behind one of the baskets and at halftime,” he said.
But then one security guard came to Francona and said that MJ wanted to see him in the locker room. Though hesitant at first, Francona went back to the locker room after the guard emphasized on it. “By the time I get back there, they’re coming out of the locker room. It’s Phil Jackson, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and MJ comes up and gives me a big hug. I’m like, ‘Get off me, you’re all sweaty,’” he told WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche.
The two even placed a bet on MJ, scoring 20 points in the second half, which ‘His Airness’ obviously won. “I had to go to the ATM after the game,” Tito recollected. This instance itself was a testament that even after returning to his world, where he arguably ruled like no other, Michael Jordan did not forget his bond with the manager who tried getting him better at baseball.
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