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We are all driven by something. This is particularly true for those who can crystallize their highest aspirations and begin a determined search to achieve them. Just like the elite athlete.
Has this world ever met someone who fits that description better than Michael Jordan?
Jordan, in fact, is defined by its cruelty. It was formed during childhood, when he desperately sought to please his father, a desire that was the root of his decision to move away from basketball to go play baseball.
Baseball was not a choice. It was not an NBA vacation. There was a wink and push “suspension” from then-commissioner David Stern, who is said to be upset by Jordan’s game.
By the fall of 1993, baseball was, for Jordan, a calling. After the death of his father, James Jordan, a former semi-pro baseball player, baseball is where MJ’s heart was and it’s what he had to do.
That his decision was at least as much for himself as for his father was made clear in Episode 7 of “The Last Dance” on ESPN.
Michael had received all the honors available in the NBA. He had fueled his mad desire to win and filled his father with pride. While winning six championships, six Finals MVP awards, and five regular season MVP awards, MJ also made a long list of enemies. Opponents were to be looked down upon, even if he had to fabricate slights to fan the hell that was already deep inside him. He pushed and hit his teammates, sometimes literally. MJ was a walking growl.
Much of MJ’s determination was formed during childhood, when she desperately sought to please her father; some say he was driven by the idea that his father favored Larry, Michael’s older brother. And now he had one more chance, this time with his father living alone in his soul.
James Jordan was killed on July 23, 33 days after having seen his son lead the Chicago Bulls to the 1993 championship. His body was discovered 11 days later and positively identified 10 days later, on August 13.
MJ announced his retirement seven weeks later on October 6, followed shortly by his decision to try baseball. On February 7, he signed a baseball contract.
No matter how it turned out, Michael knew that playing baseball would make his father smile. For a long time he recognized that his detour to the diamond was inspired by his father, who after witnessing the Bulls win their third consecutive NBA Finals in ’93, continued to “hint” that his son should try baseball. MJ told writer Bob Greene that every time he got in the car for his pre-dawn trip to the ballpark, he imagined his father traveling with him.
It was his father who introduced Michael to baseball, played with him in the backyard and, noting the life of two sports by Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, suggested that his son could do the same.
“We were debating, he and I, we were debating about myself playing baseball,” Jordan said, recalling his last conversation with his father.
Judiciously involved parents can have an incredible positive impact. The perceptive child realizes the father’s dreams. I’ve seen it before, in December 2001 to be exact.
For nine years, Jason Giambi had been a member of Oakland Organization A. His journey from the minor leagues, where he played Jordan in the minor leagues, included a move from third base to first base, where he became an MVP and a five-time All-Star. He was the team leader and the centerpiece of the franchise when he became a free agent after season 01.
Giambi was lured out of Oakland by a seven-year, $ 120 million contract offered by the Yankees. His departure from the Athletics was bittersweet because he loved leading that team. The only thing that kept him from re-signing a year earlier was Oakland’s refusal to include a non-exchange clause. But money was too persuasive, and New York was, well, a calling.
Jason’s father John was a Yankees fan. He idolized Mickey Mantle and hoped that one of his sons would one day be able to wear pinstripes. How could Jason say no? Could not. And during his introductory press conference, Jason received number 25 and struggled to hold back tears because he knew how much the moment meant to his father, who was in the room.
“Well, Dad, it’s not number 7,” he said, referring to Mantle’s retired number. “But they are pinstripes.”
Michael Jordan knew that he would not have made it to the NBA without his father’s lessons and messages. He also knew that his father liked basketball a lot, but he loved baseball.
He was drawn into baseball largely by memories of James Jordan, and now he was reconnecting with his father in the purest way he could.
MJ had to go where his heart took him. His only wish could have been that his father was there, in the room, to see him become a baseball player.
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