Michael Jordan is not surprised his pal Charles Barkley said it first. Barkley has a way of voicing opinions early and often.
“He’s right, though,” Jordan assured. “Charles usually is. He just doesn’t get enough credit for being right so often. But when he’s quoted that it would be a disgrace if the NBA shuts down. . . . No World Series, now hockey is locked out. This is crazy. Fans are going to get aggravated.”
Playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League-where he’s 6 for 19, .316 after Wednesday’s game-Jordan can detach himself from big business elsewhere. This is just basic baseball on lazy afternoons, framed by cactus and mountains, without George Will or Billy Crystal or the Harvard gang to tell us what it all means.
“I’ve known Michael since he first came to the Bulls,” says George Koehler, Jordan’s confidant from Chicago. “This is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him.”
Jordan will be in the United Center on Nov. 1 for a night in his honor to benefit the James Jordan Boys and Girls Club, and he’ll return for the Bulls’ home opener Nov. 4. But the mission now, as it has been since February, is a crash course on baseball. The world’s greatest athlete is reaching out for a new career, if not a curve that should be left alone.
“Major difference,” says Scorpions’ manager Terry Francona. “When he began with us last spring in Birmingham, I think Michael had read all the stories about how he wouldn’t be able to handle the breaking ball. So, he went after too many. But if a pitcher starts you off with a curve in the dirt, and you don’t swing, the count’s 1-0 in your favor. Michael can get the hard stuff. It’s the other stuff where he’s being more selective.”
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Just the other day Francona had the batter before Jordan bunt runners along with two on and none out. Michael Jordan, who hit .260 during the final month in Birmingham, is not the liability he once was. He had 51 RBI. He stole 30 bases. He insists Walt Hriniak, the White Sox sultan of swat, has helped. But opponents look at that long, languid swing and wonder. Hriniak’s methods stir debate, at all levels.
Michael Jordan, like any other ballplayer, finds offense to be fun. It’s defense that’s drudgery, and he needs more time in the outfield. He can chase down a ball on raw speed, but he needs to keep runners from taking the extra base on him.
“That’s why I’m here, to learn,” Jordan says. “I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. But, if I can make the White Sox when I’m 34 or 35, great. I don’t care if I’m the 25th man. I’ll make the minimum, but only if I deserve it.”
It is mentioned to Jordan that, the way baseball is going, the sport might need a few exciting new attractions.
“I don’t know what to make of what’s going on in sports,” Jordan says. “I mean, I saw that Glenn Robinson wants $100 million to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks and I thought it was a mistake. He hasn’t played a game. And Anfernee Hardaway?
“Man, where does it end? Things are great in the NBA. They shouldn’t kill a good thing. I agree with the salary cap, maybe with unrestricted free agency after five years. The money rookies are asking, where’s your incentive if you get all the money you’ll ever need before you put on a uniform?
“Scottie Pippen has a point about where it stacks up against a guy like Toni Kukoc, who hasn’t done it yet. But a contract is a contract. Most I ever made was $4 million. It was high when I signed, but it wasn’t high for long. I never asked to renegotiate. Ever hear me ask for more money?”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I mention. “You’re making $76,712 a day off your endorsements, even now.”
“Where did you hear that?” Jordan asks.
“A recent survey put you at $76,712 a day,” I say. “Arnold Palmer is second among athletes at $30,137.”
“I’m at $76,712?” says Jordan, smiling. “That might be a little low.”