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For many, the thing commonly referred to as a mid-life crisis or quarter-life crisis sparks the purchase of a new car, or wardrobe, enrollment in an expensive exercise class or some marginal life change. For Michael Jordan, the need for change following the death of his father sparked something that only someone like Jordan could do: Retire from the NBA, where he was considered among the greatest to ever play the game and pick up another professional sport. It was assumed because he was Michael Jordan he would be able to do this well.
Twenty years ago today (Tuesday) marks the first at-bat Jordan took with the Chicago White Sox. He ditched his signature 23 for the number 45. In his debut with the Sox, he went 0-for-1 at the plate. In April, he made his debut with the franchise’s Class AA squad in Birmingham, where he didn’t embarrass himself (his batting average was .202 on the season) but never seemed to be anywhere close to becoming a similar superstar to what he was in basketball.
AP photo/Mark Elias
Jordan’s time with baseball was over by February of 1995 (he cited the sport’s labor dispute) and he returned to basketball a month later. “Eventually I just decided that I loved the game too much to stay away,” he told reporters. Ironically, as Sports Illustrated pointed out at the time, it was his baseball teammates who helped him love basketball again by playing around in pickup games with him. “Maybe they’re like me,” he told reporters in 1995. “They believe they can be a basketball player like I believe I can be a baseball player.”
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