Terry Francona recalls teaching Michael Jordan to play Yahtzee

Michael Jordan: "The Ceiling is the Roof" ✔

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Terry Francona managedthe Red Sox to two World Series titles during his eight-year tenure in Boston. He led Cleveland to anAmerican League pennant in 2016. But his stint as the manager for the Birmingham Barons boasts a claim to fame that may rival his otheraccomplishments:

He taught Michael Jordan how to play Yahtzee.

After Jordans first retirement from basketball in 1993, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to the Double-A squad in Birmingham.

Francona, who was the teams manager at the time, told complexthat jordan was competitive in everything, and Yahtzee was no different.

We played a lot of Yahtzee. Was he competitive? Hes competitive in everything.

Ill tell you a story. We were in Zebulon, North Carolina. This is the first time hes back in Carolina to play baseball, so its a big deal. Everybody wants to talk to him. Some pretty big-name guys were there.

This was before they built the clubhouses there, so we were out in this trailer. After the game, me and the coaches were in there playing Yahtzee. Michael came by and saw us and said, Hey, what are you guys doing?

And I said, F, man, werent you ever a kid? Were playing Yahtzee.

Well, teach me.

Sure, Mike. Any time.

No, teach me now.

So I had to run out and tell all the media that Mike was in the cage, working with Barney on his swing, while we taught him how to play Yahtzee. We played the rest of the season. Do you know how many games of Yahtzee you can play on a 12-hour bus trip?

Read anentire oral history of Michael Jordans baseball career at Complex.

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNE2POse_wfEABfkY1GM39YBNeSSxg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779406719884&ei=glm8WIDVN4nQ3gHSrK6QCQ&url=https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2017/03/03/terry-francona-recalls-teaching-michael-jordan-to-play-yahtzee