Whenever Jordan gave one of his I-can-do-anything speeches—Jerry Reinsdorf claims Jordan once bowled two strikes by sending the ball backward between his legs—Krause was there to refute Jordan's boasts. Krause recalled, "Michael was always bragging about himself as a baseball hitter." When asked how he could do this when Joe DiMaggio had been hitting on average.400 for most of his career, Krause replied, "Well, maybe because Joe DiMaggio was old and sick when he played baseball."
Joe DiMaggio was considered by many to be the greatest hitter of all time. He was famous for his batting style which was said to be like "automation", meaning that it didn't look like he was trying hard but he still managed to hit well. In fact, during his entire career, he only failed to reach base 100 times (he got to 101 twice). He started out playing in small towns around New York where fans knew him from other sports so people probably expected something less than perfect form from him. However, even with this expected level of performance, he still managed to win two World Series with the Yankees. After playing with them for several years, he was bought by Major League Baseball who wanted to promote themselves in the popular culture. So, in keeping with this new image, they made sure that nobody ever reached first base while he was playing.
Both of his singles resulted in runs, with the second tying the game for the White Sox. Jordan never appeared in a regular-season game in the major leagues, but his performance at Wrigley showed that he may one day compete at the greatest level. Michael Jordan's baseball career is widely regarded as a colossal flop. He spent just 99 games over two seasons with the Chicago White Sox, hitting only.272 with no home runs or stolen bases.
In fact, Jordan's entire stint with the White Sox was pretty much a disaster. He arrived in Chicago with enormous hype (and a $750,000 contract) but ended up being one of the team's biggest disappointments. After playing well during spring training, Jordan started off slowly in April 1992, when he got into some trouble with alcohol and drugs. He eventually went on disability because of mental problems (possibly related to his addiction) and didn't play again until mid-August, by which time the White Sox had already finished their season. In January 1993, they traded him to the New York Knicks (then of the NBA) in a deal involving Cliff Levingston and Dan Hodge, but he was let go by the Knicks shortly after joining them.
Long before Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Michael Jordan was a basketball superstar who also happened to be excellent at baseball. And though his baseball career lasted only 99 games, it still offers us valuable insight into how not to handle criticism from sports fans.
He worked out after batting practice. He practiced both before and after the games. "His work ethic was the finest I've ever seen," hitting coach Mike Barnett said. Michael Jordan's attitude was straightforward: success is earned through dedicated, continuous effort. He never claimed to have any natural ability or talent for basketball; instead, he said that he worked hard and believed in himself, and this allowed him to become one of the best players in NBA history.
Michael Jordan was born on January 17th, 1963. He was raised by his parents, Deloris and Michael Jr., in a low-income neighborhood in South Charlotte, North Carolina. His father was a truck driver and his mother worked as a secretary.
When Michael was 11 years old, he started playing baseball; at first, he wanted to be a pitcher, but when he saw that there were too many batters so he decided to play first base. Baseball ended up not being his career choice though, since at the age of 14 he began to focus on basketball. Even before then, he had been interested in this sport; his father took him to some games when he was young and from then on, Michael loved watching basketball players show off their moves on the court.
In 1974, when Michael was 15 years old, his family moved to Richmond, Virginia where he went to school until he finished high school in 1981.
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