{"id":2715745,"date":"2021-04-28T11:37:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T01:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthyman.com.au\/?p=2715745"},"modified":"2021-05-31T11:40:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T01:40:09","slug":"basketball-baseball-before-retiring-michael-jordans-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthyman.com.au\/basketball-baseball-before-retiring-michael-jordans-career\/","title":{"rendered":"From basketball to baseball and back again before retiring Michael Jordan’s career wasn’t boring"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Michael Jordan was the undisputed king of basketball in 1993 after he\u2019d led the Chicago Bulls to their third consecutive NBA title. He\u2019d become the first player in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP awards in the NBA Finals Series, and he was only 30 years old.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterwards, his world came crashing down when his father was murdered. Three months later, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball, stating that he\u2019d lost his desire to play and that the loss of his father was a factor. He was very close to his Dad.<\/p>\n

A shock announcement<\/h2>\n

Early in 1994, Jordan shocked the sporting world when he announced that he was signing a baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. At the time, Jordan said he was pursuing his father\u2019s dream of him becoming a Major League Baseball player. His famous number 23 singlet was retired by the Bulls after his retirement announcement.<\/p>\n

Jordan played Minor League Baseball in 1994 with both the Birmingham Barons and the Scottsdale Scorpions, feeder teams to the White Sox. He had mixed results that included 3 home runs in among 114 strikeouts. The Bulls lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs in the first year of his absence.<\/p>\n

The comeback<\/h2>\n

In early 1995, Jordan quit baseball and announced his return to the Chicago Bulls with a two-word press release: \u201cI\u2019m back\u201d. The Bulls were halfway through their second season without him when he returned. Jordan decided to take number 45 for his basketball comeback, which was his baseball number.<\/p>\n

Jordan quickly showed he\u2019d lost none of his basketball skills during his eighteen-month retirement. He helped the struggling Bulls to the playoffs, where he also resumed wearing his iconic number 23 singlet.<\/p>\n

Over the next three NBA seasons, Jordan led the Bulls to another three-peat of titles. He didn\u2019t miss a single game in all three seasons. He was also the NBA Finals MVP in all three matches of this second three-peat, just like he had been in the first.<\/p>\n

The second three-peat included some of the most dramatic moments of Michael Jordan\u2019s decorated career, including:<\/p>\n