Not many basketball players would decide to call it a day in the prime of their careers and retire after winning 3x NBA championships in a row. However, under severe circumstances, Hall of Famer Michael Jordan shocked the NBA world on October 6th, 1993. He announced his retirement and departure from the Chicago Bulls. Subsequently, in what is still widely regarded as a highly controversial decision, Jordan decided to play baseball. Though he faced major pushback from the basketball community at the time, the 6x NBA champion, several years after his retirement, reflected on the ‘humbling’ experience.

In the early 1990s, Michael Jordan was at the top of the world. Jordan was in the prime of his career after the 1992-93 season. However, personally, the Hall of Famer had hit rock bottom after losing his father James Jordan Sr in a horrific murder. Consequently, many fans believe his father’s passing influenced Jordan to go and play baseball. 

Subsequently, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, the Minor League affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which happened to be owned by the owner of the Chicago Bulls, Jerry Reinsdorf. Though Jordan had an impressive run in the 1994 season sporting a batting average of .202 and three home runs, he decided to return to the NBA. On his return, many pundits dubbed his decision to play baseball a ‘failed opportunity’. However, MJ seriously disagreed with the label and termed his stint with baseball absolutely indispensable for his second three-peat run with the Bulls.

Michael Jordan refuses to accept that his stint with baseball was a failure

Being the Cigar lover that he is, Michael Jordan appeared for an exhaustive interview with Marvin R. Shanken a few years ago. In the 2017 interview with Cigar Aficionado , when reflecting on his experience playing baseball, Jordan shed light on a valuable lesson he learned from the ordeal. He said, “Everyone says, oh, it was failed opportunity to play baseball, you know that’s what they think, for me it was the best thing that could happen for me because it allowed me to go back to the game with a stronger passion at the same time I was able to understand the love that these Minor league baseball players have making $1500/month, which is nothing but for them it was big; to me to see that helped me put things in perspective.”

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Read More – Michael Jordan Needed the Validation From His “Homie” 2x World Series Champion to Avoid “Embarrassing” Himself in 1994

Billionaire Jordan didn’t hold back in speaking his mind about the ‘humbling’ experience while playing baseball. From completing a 3-peat to playing baseball alongside minor league players was quite an experience for the Hall of Famer. Needless to say, as Jordan claimed in the interview, his experience provided him a tough reality check about the world and the passion of the minor league players instilled him a new flame to conquer the NBA.

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Jordan completed another there-peat with the Bulls and cemented his name among the greats of the game. Many fans regard him today as the greatest player of all time.