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I was recovering from an auto accident and visiting some friends when Michael Jordan's notion became a news item. It was sometime in January. The moment I heard this, I realized that there was a chance, however long or small, that Jordan's venture into baseball could take him into Huntsville and other cities in the Southern League since Birmingham was the AA affiliate for the White Sox. If he signed.

Michael Jordan's career in professional baseball lasted just one season, but he didn't cut out because of a disappointing season in which he hit just .202. The big baseball strike of 1994-95 was just too frustrating for him to handle. Refusing to either cross a picket line or sit still, he just quit.

But in the year of 1994, he filled baseball parks all across the Southern League. The first five teams to see him play, including Birmingham, were the top five teams in attendance. Huntsville was next.

The Stars front office was ready for a huge crowd --- even a record crowd (which came two days later). Michael Jordan had been the "talk of the town" since March 31, when it was decided he would be assigned to the Birmingham Barons and play right field. Thursday night, he brought in 11,034 --- the 7th largest crowd in Joe Davis Stadium history.

Unlike some players who came into the ballpark with as name value or huge reputations such as Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson, Michael was not an autograph signer. On rare occasions, he would come forward to the retaining barrier near the Birmingham dugout and sign, but as soon as he would come over, a mad rush of people would swell the steps and seating aisles instantly, and that would cause Jordan to back off. He knew the pitfalls of his fame and did not want to feel responsible for someone getting hurt just over an autograph. He would admonish first, then walk away, which he was usually forced to do.

But most people came to the park see Jordan play, and like the night Bo Jackson came to town in 1987, they came to cheer his every move. Fans waited for their moment to arrive when he stepped up to bat in the 3rd inning. The anticipation had worked itself to a frenzy of cheers loud and long. In his first at-bat, Jordan popped out into short center field. And another ovation. Just for stepping out on the field and taking a swing.

The Stars came in hot. A 13-6 start to the season, their best start since 1985. They were 3 games ahead of the Memphis Chicks in the West. Birmingham was 9-11.

The Stars jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Scott Shockey's double to the gap in left-center kicked off a rally in the 4th and Jason Giambi's double to the gap in left center in the 5th gave Curtis Shaw a comfortable lead, but that became the Barons wake-up call. With the score 4-1 and Chris Snopek on 3rd base thanks to the second of Garrett Beard's passed balls in the inning, Jordan was walked on a 3-2 pitch, perhaps intentionally. Jordan greeted Stars 1st baseman Scott Shockey and said, "How's Huntsville?"

"Not bad," Shockey said. "Then he told me he was having a blast playing baseball."

Jordan would score in the 6th on Scott Tedder's 2-run double.

The Stars held a 4-3 lead when Birmingham rallied again, giving the fans another chance to see him at the plate. This time the game was on the line.

Kevin Coughlin's pinch-hit grounder in the 7th scored Ken Coleman to tie the game, 4-4. With Snopek running at second, Stars manager Gary Jones ordered RHP Scott Rose to intentionlly walk lefty hitter Troy Fryman, setting up a righty-righty matchup at the plate. It was Jordan.

"It was a focal point for me," Jordan later said, "for me to either shine or sit down."

Scott Rose went 1-and-1 on him, then made a mistake. He left a fastball up. Ray Charles could have hit it. Instead of pitching him inside and low, he left it up in his wheelhouse. Jordan swung and smoked a line drive past the glove of Jason Giambi. It rattled into the left field corner for an easy double, scoring Snopek and Fryman, giving the Barons a 6-4 lead. The Barons tacked on three more, but Jordan's hit won the game for them. It was the first of a club-leading seven game-winning hits he would have for the Barons.

The Stars took the attention good-naturedly and got a bit of teasing in.

Jason Giambi related, "When he got to second, Woody (Jason Wood) said, 'You took that walk personally, huh? He just laughed."

After a 1-for-4 day, Michael Jordan was now batting .300 through 17 games. He would end his only professional baseball season with a .202 average, 3 home runs (off Carolina pitcher Kevin Rychel, Knoxville pitcher Jeff Ware, and Chattanooga' Glen Cullop) and 51 RBIs. Eleven of them came with the bases loaded. That led the club. 25 of them came with runners in scoring position. That also led his club. His 30 stolen bases tied for 5th best in the league.

On March 10, 1995, nearly a year after he signed with the White Sox, he retired from baseball.

Buoyed by his appearances, the Southern League drew a record of nearly 2.6 million in 1994. Birmingham led the way with over 467,000. The Stars' attendance of over 297,000 was the second best in its history.

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