#MJMondays: MJ Learns The Ropes

Michael Jordan made it clear that he wasn’t simply trying baseball on a whim. He was in to win. Taking early morning and late afternoon batting practices, picking the coaches’ brains on tips to improve. MJ applied to the baseball diamond the same tenacity he used to become an NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls. And he had good teachers. Terry Francona managed the Birmingham Barons from 1993 to 1995, covering Jordan’s entire run with the Class AA squad. Francona would go on to manage the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, where he won World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. This photo of the two champs was taken on July 14, 1994 – 22 years ago this week. Check out a clip from ESPN’s 30 for 30 Jordan Rides The Bus, with Francona discussing MJ’s gravitational pull back to basketball.