The Last Dance in Oakland? Michael Jordan playing for the A’s almost happened….
By Ben Fadden
Michael Jordan never officially made it to the big leagues with the Chicago White Sox, but he would have with the Oakland Athletics.
The Last Dance has taken the world by storm, as it highlights Michael Jordan and the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls and their quest to getting their sixth and final championship.
Well, part of Michael Jordan’s legacy was when he was retired to go play for the Chicago White Sox but it never ended in being in the major leagues officially.
But on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight Podcast with Buster Olney”, former A’s GM Sandy Alderson would have made a spot for the best basketball player ever.
More A's. A's put all their eggs in Sean Murphy basket. light
“If you recall when Jordan stopped playing basketball and decided to try baseball and ultimately went down the Birmingham Barons — the Chicago White Sox affiliate,” said Alderson, who now is currently a senior advisor to Billy Beane.
“When I heard that was happening — or about to happen — I called the agent right away and said, ‘Hey look, I understand he may be going to Double-A. I don’t even know who the 25th man is on our major league team right now. I will sign him and put him on the major league roster. He’ll be part of our 25-man team. Tomorrow.”
This trade that never happened is so intriguing because seeing Michael Jordan actually suit up in the major leagues right in the middle of his two three-peats with the Bulls would have been a sight to see.
He would have been on the same team as Dennis Eckersley, Mark McGwire, and of course Rickey Henderson.
But as we know Michael Jordan is a very loyal guy, and so he felt like he needed to stay in Chicago while doing the full baseball journey through the minor leagues.
A's all time franchise bracket. dark. Next
Jordan’s agent, David Falk, said that his client didn’t feel like he was ready or deserving enough to be in the majors that early. But it is safe to say we would have.