PITTSBURGH _ Back when Pirates third-base coach Joey Cora was a player, he was known for his exceptional work ethic, routinely arriving before his teammates for extra batting practice or fielding work. As an undersized infielder with four different MLB clubs, it's what Cora had to do to survive.
But in 1994, when Cora was with the Chicago White Sox, he lost his title as the team's hardest-working player.
Cora had to settle for second place when, by his own admission, Michael Jordan _ yes, that one _ would routinely beat him to the batting cages in the morning, soaking up one-on-one instruction with hitting instructor Walt Hriniak while trying to make a run at professional baseball.
"I usually was the first one there every morning," Cora told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday in a lengthy phone interview about Jordan's baseball exploits. "That was until Jordan showed up. He was there way before me. He and Walt worked their (butts) off every single day. It felt like they were there at 5:45 or 6 in the morning. By the time I showed up, they were drenched with sweat because of how hard they were working."
There are some who insisted Jordan's abrupt retirement after the 1993-94 NBA season was some sort of publicity stunt. Cora is not among that group.
"You don't show up every day at 6:30 in the morning and work like he did to be a publicity stunt," Cora insisted. "And there were no reporters or nothing at that time. He wasn't doing it to show off. He was doing it because he wanted to do it."
Cora grew close with Jordan during the latter's foray into baseball. In fact, Cora and his good friend, Ozzie Guillen, were rehabbing knee injuries that offseason in Chicago when Jordan decided to try baseball, and the three of them took part in some of Jordan's earliest workouts _ before news broke in February 1994 that he would switch sports.
In the spirit of "The Last Dance," the 10-part Jordan documentary currently airing on ESPN, here are 10 more stories/anecdotes about the former Bulls star that have local ties. Seven involve Cora. The other three feature former Pirates skipper Gene Lamont _ the manager of the White Sox that year _ as well as New Brighton, Pa., native Terry Francona, who managed Jordan with the Class AA Birmingham Barons.
