Michael Jordan’s Decades-Old Connection to Tyler Reddick Gets Unraveled as Memories Resurface

If not more accolades, Michael Jordan at other sports has surely secured some connections for him. Notably, apart from basketball, MJ has been significantly involved in golf and baseball at different points of time in his life. And it is obvious these new sports will bring some new connections with them. And, NASCAR racing driver Tyler Reddick has traced his connection with Mike through a baseball link. 

It is worth mentioning that Reddick’s fiance, Alexa DeLeon, is the daughter of late Major League Baseball pitcher Jose DeLeon. In a recent QnA interview with ‘The Athlete’, Reddick was asked if his previous statement where he said his father-in-law played baseball with Michael Jordan was true. “I think they spent some time together in spring training. I wish I knew all the details of it. I’ve seen a couple photos Alexa and her mom have,” the 28-year-old NASCAR driver replied.

Reddick further mentioned in his answer that his father-in-law, Jose DeLeon, spent some time with Michael Jordan during his time at the (Chicago) White Sox when MJ was a part of the White Sox spring training. “They got to know each other through that. I think there’s even a picture — I could be wrong — of MJ holding Alexa as a baby,” he added. However, he never talked to the former Chicago Bulls icon about this, as per his claims. Notably, Reddick drives the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing, which MJ co-owns.

Coming back to the baseball link, Reddick was also asked if Alexa ever talked to MJ about the said picture. “I don’t think she’s asked him about it…. Probably because it’s a weird, obscure thing from a long, long time ago. But maybe one of these days, I’ll ask him about it,” Reddick told ‘The Athletic’.

A quick recap of Michael Jordan’s baseball career

Michael Jordan’s first retirement in basketball came after his father’s murder in 1993 as he lost his desire to play basketball after the incident. He later entered the field of baseball after signing a Minor League Baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox in 1994. Jordan revealed that this decision was based on his father’s desire to see MJ become a baseball player.

The Bulls icon played for the Chicago White Sox’s Double-A minor league affiliate, Birmingham Barons in 1994. However, his performance was not as impressive as he managed just a .202 batting average, 51 runs batted in, and 3 home runs. Apart from this, he struck out 114 times and had 11 errors in total.

He also played in the Arizona league, finishing with a batting average of .252. However, a strike by MLB led to the cancellation of the remaining 1994 season. And as per the reports, Michael Jordan was in no mood to play just as a replacement player while the other players were on a strike. Subsequently, MJ made the announcement of his return to the NBA on March 18 1995 with a statement, “I’m back”. And what followed was another historic 3-peat victory for Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.