Signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox on Feb. 7, 1994... signed by Ron Schueler (White Sox) ... wore No. 45 for the Barons, the number he wore for his Laney (NC) High School baseball team... assigned to the Double-A Birmingham Barons roster March 31, 1994, setting off a frenzy of interest never before seen in Minor League history... prior to joining the White Sox, Jordan had played for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA from 1984-1993, when he retired following the Bulls' third-straight NBA championship... prior to his NBA career, he played at North Carolina, where he majored in geography... Jordan retired from basketball on Oct. 6, 1993, saying he'd lost his desire to play the sport along with physical and mental exhaustion... he reported to White Sox Spring Training on Feb. 7, 1994 in Sarasota, Florida... Jordan said his move to baseball was in part to fulfill the dream of his father, James Jordan Sr., who was murdered in July 1993... the White Sox were owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owned the Chicago Bulls
1994
Jordan joined the Barons April 8, 1994 after playing in the Windy City Classic exhibition game April 7 for the White Sox against the Cubs, where he was 2-5 with 2 RBIs... started in right field in his 1st official pro game for the Barons against Chattanooga ... flew out in first at-bat vs. John Courtright and went 0-3 in front of 10,359 fans and 130 members of the national and international media... collected first MiLB hit (8th at-bat) off Joe Ganote of Knoxville, a single in the 3rd inning April 10 at the Hoover Met (now known as Regions Park); the two-hit day started a 13-game hit streak from April 10-26 (.378, 17-45)... drove in his first run, a bases-loaded single which scored Steve Sax, and stole his first base on April 11 vs. Knoxville... the JordanCruiser made its debut April 14 as the bus took the Barons to Chattanooga for the first road trip of the season; contrary to popular belief, Jordan did not buy the bus, but his likeness did... drove in first of seven game-winning runs on the season April 28 at Huntsville with a 7th-inning double; it broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Barons a 9-4 win... ended one of the wildest finishes in club history on July 6 when the Barons were no-hit by Huntsville's Steve Wojciechowski through 8 innings -- the Barons rallied in the 9th and pulled within 5-3 with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jordan hit a grounder to third, which was thrown away into right field, clearing the bases for a 6-5 win... hit .202 with three homers, 17 doubles, a triple, 30 stolen bases, 46 runs scored and 51 RBIs in 127 games during the 1994 Southern League season with Birmingham... Jordan led the Barons with 114 strikeouts, and his 30 steals ranked second on the team behind Doug Brady... after the season, Jordan joined the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .252... his No. 23 was retired by the Bulls in November
1995
With Major League Baseball players on strike to begin the 1995 season, Jordan opted to quit the game as he reportedly feared becoming a replacement player... he retired from baseball on March 10, 1995... on March 18, 1995, Jordan announced he was returning to basketball with the Chicago Bulls, making his debut the following day wearing his same baseball uniform number, 45... he later reverted back to No. 23 and led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they lost to Orlando
Post-baseball career
Jordan picked up where he left off in basketball, leading the Bulls to NBA championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998; he retired from the NBA after the 2003 season with a legacy that placed him among the best players of all time... he won six NBA crowns and was named NBA Finals MVP in each; he was the NBA MVP five times, was selected to 14 All-Star Games, was the NBA's scoring champion 10 times, led the league in steals three times, won a pair of Slam Dunk Contests, led Team USA to gold medals at the 1984 and 1992 Summer Olympics and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by Barack Obama... the Basketball Hall of Famer went on to become a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets until 2023 and became the first billionaire player in NBA history in 2016... he appeared in the film Space Jam (1996)... his partnership with Nike led to the Jordan Brand and his iconic line of sneakers... Jordan became a part owner of the Miami Marlins in 2017
