Michael Jordan's best baseball skill? ‘He could fly' on the base paths

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Michael Jordan’s tenure as a minor league baseball player was not as successful as his time as the world’s greatest basketball player. That’s putting it mildly.

But Jordan was not hapless as a baseball player.

While the greatest compliments were paid to his work ethic and his drive to work his way up through the minor leagues and reach the majors, he had some skill, too.

“I couldn’t believe how fast he was, that’s what blew me away,” former White Sox outfielder and current radio broadcaster Darrin Jackson told Our Chuck Garfien on the White Sox Talk Podcast. “You see how quick he was on a basketball court, but now he’s stretching that out down the baseline, he’s stretching that out all the way to second base or around the base paths.

“He could fly, and I couldn’t believe how quick and fast he was. That, I think, was the biggest surprise to me, being a baseball player, being a former center fielder. I thought I was pretty fast. I was saying, ‘This guy was right there with me.’ I was very impressed. You’ve got this 6-6 guy who could run with you.”

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Jordan didn’t do much with the bat in his 127 games with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, hitting just .202 with only three homers. But he did steal 30 bases.

“(Stealing 30 bases) is not easy,” said Jackson, who had three minor league seasons with at least 36 steals, including a 58-steal season in 1982. “I look at guys who have speed now, but they don’t know how to steal a base. They can’t steal 30 bases whether it be Double-A, Triple-A, minor leagues, big leagues. That is impressive.

“The most impressive thing was when I saw how quick and fast he was. For him to get the sense and the feel of the timing to steal a base against a pitcher that’s been doing it their whole life, not an easy task.”

For more behind-the-scenes tales from Michael Jordan's baseball career, listen to this recent edition of the White Sox Talk Podcast.

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