1 Year Into NBA Retirement, 28YO Michael Jordan Encounter With MLB Legend Ichiro Suzuki Triggers Memories of Bulls Legend’s Short Stint

Old NBA fans would recall there was a glitch in time when Michael Jordan played baseball. Unlike most NBA legends, ‘His Airness’ retired twice from the league. After his first retirement, the Chicago Bulls icon switched to professional baseball. He couldn’t repeat the NBA-level success in the minor leagues, though. Yet he had achieved global superstardom already. Enough to leave a future MLB superstar stars-truck.

Before he would become an MJ-level star in the MLB, Ichiro Suzuki came to the USA and met the then-baseball athlete, Michael Jordan. The video of their first encounter has resurfaced on the internet, giving a much-needed dose of positive vibes today.

Michael Jordan left Ichiro Suzuki overwhelmed

Japanese national, Ichiro Suzuki began his professional baseball career in the NPB Pacific League in 1992. He started with the Orix BlueWave at 18 and wouldn’t be a mainstay in the MLB until 2001. But he was already a rising baseball star when he first visited the US.

During his first trip in 1995, he ended up meeting his athletic hero. That was the then-3x NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan. He was in retirement then, but still extremely popular that Ichiro was overwhelmed. The video of their first encounter is back on the cyberspace discussion circles. By the majority of opinions, it is a certified wholesome interaction.

From the second the door opened and Ichiro caught sight of Jordan, his fanboy spirit surfaced. Jordan was gracious and welcoming, greeting the translator, whom he seemingly worked with in the past.

Ichiro was cool when he first introduced himself in English. He was then melting into nervous giggles as the translator introduced him. Suzuki was not the Seattle Mariners star yet. But he was still a bigshot athlete.

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Jordan was impressed as the translator informed him that he was not a pitcher and came off a season-high 210 hits. He was in the USA scouting a potential spot in the MLB at that time. His meeting with MJ that year was not a mere coincidence.

Ichiro was meeting baseball pro, Michael Jordan

After the tragic death of his father in 1993, Michael Jordan lost his passion for basketball and retired for the first time. He instead fulfilled his father’s baseball dreams and signed with the Chicago White Sox minor league team in 1994.

When Ichiro Suzuki met him, Jordan had been playing baseball for a year. He was not great at it, nowhere near Suzuki’s rookie records. But that didn’t matter to the young outfielder. His translator conveyed to Jordan, “He’s very excited to see you. You’ve been his idol since he was young.”

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Before the interaction in the old clip, Jordan recognized Suzuki from a practice the day before. He asked through the translator if he was aiming for the Majors. Ichiro, though speechless in front of his athletic hero, responded in his witty style that roughly translated to, “Once my arm gets as big as yours, then I’ll think about it.”

We can’t compare arm sizes, but their careers are well-matched. From his MLB debut, Ichiro became a 10-time All-Star, MVP, Rookie of the Year, 10-time Gold Glove Awardee, and more. Jordan’s baseball career didn’t pan out that way. He’d walk off the diamond and announced his return to the NBA in March 1995.