As professional sports leagues remain on hold due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, fans and players alike have been captivated by “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s 10-part documentary on Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls teams that rattled off separate three-peats.
The docuseries has focused on various subtopics through the first eight episodes, and on Sunday the spotlight shifted to Jordan abruptly retiring from the NBA and electing to play baseball. He signed a Minor League contract with the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to Double-A Birmingham.
Although Jordan had not played baseball in any capacity for 14 years, Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf explained the NBA icon was assigned to Double-A because the Barons’ stadium could better handle the media frenzy.
During the episode that detailed Jordan’s brief baseball career, Walker Buehler commended him for batting .202 over 127 games. Buehler’s comment earned a friendly jab from Justin Turner and led to a comedic exchange between the Los Angeles Dodgers teammates.
I couldn’t hit 200 in AA
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) May 11, 2020
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) May 11, 2020
I needed that. Thank you for reminding me
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) May 11, 2020
Buehler batted .163 in 47 plate appearances as a rookie in 2018, and saw that dip to .085 across 66 plate appearances last season. Buehler did hit the first home run of his career against the St. Louis Cardinals, driving a ball to right-center field at Busch Stadium. However, that came in a loss, resulting in the Dodgers being swept.
Buehler never received extended opportunities at the plate during his Minor League career. He did technically bat .250 with Double-A Tulsa in 2017, albeit only in four at-bats.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s time on the diamond is largely dismissed as a failed experiment but he was the only Southern League player during the 1994 season with at least 50 RBI, 30 stolen bases and 50 walks.
After rejecting a pitch from MLB to be part of the replacement players during the strike, Jordan returned to the Bulls and eventually led them to three more championships.
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