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
Playing Hardball
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.
As much as he wanted to play baseball professionally, Michael Jordan did not want to make the major leagues as some kind of replacement. He wanted to earn the right, as his friends on the White Sox had. He supported the players in the strike and didn’t want to risk his friendship with them.
Michael refused to play. When neither the players nor the baseball owners seemed likely to reach an agreement, Michael left spring training. His baseball career was over.
It didn’t take long for the rumors to begin that Michael Jordan was going to play basketball again. He dropped in on Bulls practice several times and even took the court. When asked if Michael would be welcomed back, Bulls coach Phil Jackson told reporters, “Michael Jordan is welcome to play with us anytime he wants.”
Soon he began practicing in earnest. He wanted to make sure he was ready. On March 18, 1995, Michael Jordan made it official. The Bulls released a brief statement from Michael, consisting of the only two words basketball fans around the world wanted to hear.
“I’m back!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1995
“I’m Back!”
Michael Jordan officially returned to the NBA on Sunday, March 19, 1995, when the Bulls played the Indiana Pacers at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The game was broadcast across the nation. Every basketball fan in the country was glued to the television set.
When Michael was introduced before the game, the partisan Pacer crowd let loose a mighty roar. They didn’t care that he played for the opposition. They were just glad he was playing again. Everyone stood and cheered, drowning out the voice of the announcer. Michael ran onto the court and slapped hands with his teammates. He was back!
Michael looked like the same player he had been when he left the game 21 months before, except for one minor difference — his number. Since he first joined the Bulls, he had always worn number 23. But the Bulls had retired his jersey at the end of the 1993–94 season, so he decided to wear 45, the same number he wore playing baseball.
Coach Phil Jackson put Michael into the starting lineup. The Bulls needed him. Before the season even started, Horace Grant had left the team as a free agent, and the Bulls had struggled all year. Their record was just over .500, 34–32, good enough for only sixth place in the Central Division. The Bulls needed to play well over the remainder of the season to make the playoffs.
The first time Michael touched the ball, he didn’t hesitate. He threw up a jumper.
Clang! The ball rattled off the rim.
A few minutes later, Michael shot again. Again, the ball rattled around the rim and fell out.
Then he took another shot. He missed again. Another shot. Another miss.
This wasn’t quite the comeback everyone had been hoping for. Michael was out of sync, and so were the Bulls. By halftime, he had made only one shot from the field, and the Bulls trailed.
In the second half, Michael started feeling comfortable again, and the Bulls started remembering what it was like to play with Michael Jordan. Although he still wasn’t hitting his shots, he forced the Pacers to pay so much attention to him that other Bulls were left wide open. In the fourth quarter, the Bulls roared back from a 16-point deficit.
At the end of regulation play, the score was tied, 92–92. Michael was exhausted. Although he was in good shape, he wasn’t in good basketball shape. No amount of practice could compare to the physical challenge of playing a full game in the NBA. In overtime, he simply ran out of steam, and Indiana won, 103–96. Michael Jordan finished with 19 points on 7–28 shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
After the game, Michael met with the press for the first time since announcing his return. He told everyone the only reason he had returned: “I just decided I loved the game too much to stay away.”
He quickly got used to playing again, and the Bulls got used to having him. In only his fourth game back, against Atlanta, he hit a classic Michael Jordan buzzer-beater, just like old times, to defeat the Hawks. Then, in his fifth game back, he got everyone’s attention.
The Bulls played the Knicks at New York’s Madison Square Garden, in a game many thought would be a preview of the playoffs. The Knicks had one of the best records in the league, and now that Michael was back, most fans gave the Bulls a good shot at winning another title.
How well he played against the Knicks would give Michael a good idea of how ready he was for the playoffs. The Knicks were still the best defensive team in the league. Even before he had retired, the Knicks had played him tough.
But Michael Jordan had something to prove. Although he had played well since returning, he hadn’t quite been the dominant player of before. When he took the court against the Knicks, he wanted to prove to the world that he was back. Really back.
For 48 dazzling minutes, basketball fans saw the Michael Jordan of old. No matter how the Knicks defended him, he still found a way to score. He exploded down the baseline for monster dunks and l
ofted up three-pointers that hit nothing but net.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls had won — and Michael Jordan had scored 55 points! No other player in the league had scored that many points in a game all year! The weary Knicks walked off the court shaking their heads. No player had ever scored 55 points against the team in Madison Square Garden. But Michael Jordan wasn’t like any other player.
The Bulls soon got used to winning again, going 13–4 over the final weeks of the season to finish 47–35, good enough for third place in the Central Division. They were only five games behind first-place Indiana.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls played the Charlotte Hornets, who had finished three games ahead of Chicago during the regular season. The Hornets would provide Michael — and the Bulls — with a good test.
Michael passed with flying colors, although it took him three quarters to get going in game one. For most of the game, his teammates struggled, and Charlotte stayed close. Then Michael Jordan woke up and went to work.
During the final period and overtime, he scored twenty points, including one gravity-defying floating left-handed reverse underhand flip layup off the glass that left the crowd breathless. The Bulls won, 108–100, and after the game, Michael told reporters, “I felt like a shark that smelled blood in the water.”
The Bulls went on to defeat the Hornets in four games, earning the right to meet the Orlando Magic in round two.
The Magic had won the Eastern Conference with a record of 57–25. They reminded some people of the Bulls during Michael’s first few NBA seasons. Like the old Bulls, the Magic had one player who forced everyone to pay attention.
Big Shaquille O’Neal, over seven feet tall and 300 pounds, anchored the Magic attack. Since coming into the league several years before, he had, in his own way, rivaled Michael Jordan as the most popular player. At first, like the old Bulls, the Magic had struggled. But they had finally acquired some players to give O’Neal some help, like guard Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Like Chicago of a decade before, Orlando was just learning how to win.
Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports Page 7