Michael Jordan is on the board.
The seven-time NBA scoring champion got his first two hits as a baseball pro, a pair of singles in four at-bats Sunday for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.Jordan, 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in his first two games in the Southern League, broke through with a sharp single in the third inning off former golf partner Joe Ganote in a 7-1 loss to Knoxville.
"Yeah, it was a little bit of a relief," Jordan said. "I really believed I could hit the ball, but it was nice to get that first one. You get confidence by getting hits, and that's what I got."
In fact, Jordan got half his team's hits in the defeat. Jordan and the Barons still do not have a win, however; the defending league champions dropped their season opener to Chattanooga without Jordan, and have lost three straight with him.
"Even though I had a good day overall, it's no fun to come in here after you lose," he said. "Today, it seemed like I was the only one getting hits. Last night, it seemed like I was the only one not getting a hit."
The crowd of 7,520, part of the largest weekend attendance in the seven-year history of Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, gave Jordan a standing ovation after his first hit. The scoreboard, which had all zeroes after Jordan's average, home runs and RBIs, flashed "BASE HIT."
Jordan singled in seventh inning, and also struck out and grounded out. He Jordan rounded first base and slapped hands with coach Mike Barnett when he returned to the bag after his early single.
Plate umpire Lazaro Diaz called for the ball and Ganote, with a broad smile, gave it up. Diaz threw it into the dugout for safekeeping.
"I didn't ask for it," Jordan said. "I'll save the ball. It's my first professional hit that counts."
Ganote linked up with Jordan through a mutual friend before spring training, and they played golf together in Sarasota, Fla. Jordan, by the way, won that golf match, too.
After Sunday's game, though, Jordan had the clubhouse television above his locker tuned to the Atlanta-Los Angeles baseball game, not the Masters golf tournament.
"This is definitely not the way I wanted my first ESPN highlight to go," Ganote said, grinning.
"I gave him a good pitch, middle in, and he hit it," he said. "I tipped my cap to him. I glanced at him and gave him a quick smile."
Ganote, a 26-year-old righty, was 8-6 with a 4.15 ERA last year for Knoxville, a farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays. He had not given up a hit until Jordan lined a 1-0 pitch to center.
Jordan eventually made it to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball, but was stranded. He almost did not make it that far because Smokies catcher Eric Brooks nearly picked him off second base.
Jordan struck out against Ganote in the fourth after fouling off three 3-2 pitches.
Jordan singled to left-center on a 1-2 pitch in the seventh against left-handed reliever Al Montoya. Jordan almost got picked first base twice, by Montoya and the catcher.
In the ninth, Jordan grounded out to shortstop against Montoya.
Once again, Jordan was flawless in right field. He caught the only ball hit to him, and is perfect on seven flies this season.
Jordan gets cheers even when he retrieves hits grounded to him and throws them back to the infield.
The Barons, who averaged about 4,000 last year at the 10,800-seat stadium, drew 26,505 for the three weekend games Jordan played. That broke the mark of 20,441 for last season's opening weekend.
Jordan, a three-time NBA MVP, also had a slow start in spring training for the Chicago White Sox. He went 0-for-14 before getting three hits in his next six tries.
Jordan was 3-for-20 in major league exhibitions for Chicago, 4-for-26 in minor-league spring games and 2-for-5 for the White Sox last Thursday against the Chicago Cubs in the Windy City Classic at Wrigley Field.
Jordan rated his first two hits for the Barons above his first basket as a pro for the Chicago Bulls.
"This is a little better because everybody knew I was going to score at least two points," he said.