“If He Played Longer…”- MLB Legend Derek Jeter Opens Up on Michael Jordan’s Widely Debated Baseball Potential

No words can do justice to the legacy that NBA GOAT Michael Jordan has left behind. With six NBA Championships and 14 All-Star appearances, he transformed the entire realm of basketball. However, his exploits weren’t limited to the basketball court. In fact, the first time he met the future Yankees legend, Derek Jeter, was in a ballpark when Jordan represented the Arizona Fall League’s Scottsdale Scorpions.

Correspondingly, while talking about MJ’s baseball career with Drink Champs in a recent interview, DJ made some shocking revelations to shut down the people who criticized Jordan’s career in baseball.

How successful was MJ’s career in the ballpark?

In the interview, a question thrown towards Captain Jeter is whether his close friend Michael Jordan was good at baseball. Very promptly, Jeter responds with a “Yes!” and moves to talk about the criticism Jordan faced for impulsively retiring from the NBA after winning three World Championships. Moreover, Jordan’s numbers in the minor league were relatively under par. But that’s not what Derek Jeter thought.

Before diving into MJ’s career in the minor leagues, Captain Clutch explained the hierarchy chart of the Minor Leagues. He said “You have: rookie ball, Low A, High A, Double A, Triple A, and then you get to the Major Leagues. Once you get to double A, the biggest jump is from High A to Double-A. And if he can play in Double-A baseball, you can play in the Major Leagues.”

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Following this, Jeter instantly dives into praises for Jordan and says, “He went from little leagues to double-A and hit 0.200. And that’s not easy to do. It’s tough to do. And people just watch something on television and be like ‘because you’re great at one sport it doesn’t translate into another’ – it doesn’t happen like that.”

Finally, Jeter shuts down Jordan’s baseball critics and says, “So Michael was a lot better than people gave him credit for. And if he played longer, I think he would’ve just continued to improve.”

Why did Michael Jordan quit baseball?

After spending a year in the Minor Leagues with the Birmingham Barons and the Scottsdale Scorpions, Jordan made the decision to quit baseball owing to the players’ strike in 1995. In addition to that, he feared becoming a replacement player in the Major League.

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Ultimately, he quit baseball and returned to the court to win three more NBA Championships.

If Jordan hadn’t left the ballpark, how great would he be in a completely different sport? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.