Photos: Michael Jordan made baseball debut 20 years ago

Sports

Photos: Michael Jordan made baseball debut 20 years ago

Four months after retiring from the NBA, Michael Jordan made his professional baseball debut with the Chicago White Sox in spring training of 1994.

Four months after retiring from the NBA, Michael Jordan signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox and took up baseball in February 1994. Jordan made his debut on the diamond a month later as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

Michael Jordan ponders a question during a news conference on Monday, Feb. 7, 1994, in Chicago where he announced he had signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox Class AAA affiliate Nashville Sounds. His father, James, who was killed the previous summer, had always wanted Jordan to be a baseball player. "You tell me I can't do something," Jordan said, "and I'm going to do it."

Michael Jordan takes a few a swings in the batting cage during a brief workout on Feb. 7, 1994, for the White Sox in Chicago. Jordan had last played baseball as a high school senior in 1981.

The 31-year-old Jordan spent the 1994 season playing for the Double A Birmingham Barons under manager Terry Francona.

Michael Jordan attracted lots of attention during spring training. Here, a fan holds on to Jordan as he manned the outfield during a game against the Florida Marlins at Joe Robie Stadium on Sunday, March 20, 1994 in Miami.

Birmingham Baron's outfielder Michael Jordan sits in the dugout of the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on the first day of practice as a minor league ball player on April 6, 1994.

Michael Jordan made his minor league debut with the AA Birmingham Barons on April 8, 1994, against the Chattanooga Lookouts at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham. Jordan, brushed back by a pitch in the third inning, flied out on his first at-bat.

Michael Jordan didn't stay quiet for long. The 6-foot-6 Jordan finished the season with 30 stolen bases and 50 RBIs, hitting .202 with three home runs in 436 at-bats during 127 games. He also struck out 114 times.

Michael Jordan leaps high against the outfield wall for a ball, in an exhibition game on March 10, 1994, in Winter Haven, Fla. At AA Birmingham, Jordan committed 11 errors and had six outfield assists playing primarily in right field.

Michael Jordan continued to work on game, reporting to the Instructional League in Sarasota, Fla., in Sept. 23, 1994.

After his season with the Barons, Michael Jordan reported to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. He hit .252 and called himself the team's "worst player."

In the midst of a strike by Major League Baseball players, Michael Jordan (rear) attends the Chicago White Sox spring training workouts in February 1995, in Sarasota, Fla. Jordan, who voiced his support for the major leaguers, said that as a minor leaguer he didn't want to get caught in the middle of the dispute. And he wouldn't have to ...

A month after taking swings with the Chicago White Sox in Sarasota, Fla., Michael Jordan bypassed the player strike and returned to the NBA via a two-word press release: "I'm back."

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Four months after retiring from the NBA, Michael Jordan signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox and took up baseball in February 1994. Jordan made his debut on the diamond a month later as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

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