Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994                   TAG: 9404090075
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HOOVER, ALA.                                LENGTH: Medium

JORDAN A HIT - WITH FANS

Jordan went 0-for-3 with two swinging strikeouts and a weak fly ball Friday night in his baseball debut with the Double-A Birmingham Barons.

The 10-3 loss to Chattanooga also included another new experience for Jordan - his first brushback pitch, courtesy of Lookouts left-hander John Courtright.

The evening wasn't a total loss for Jordan. In a Southern League game in which his team made seven errors, he caught all four fly balls hit to right field, plus he made two nice stops on short-hop singles to his backhand.

The crowd of 10,359 was a little shy of a sellout and fewer than Bo Jackson, the Phillie Phanatic and The Famous Chicken each drew to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in past years. They cheered all night for the rookie wearing No. 45. Flashbulbs popped each time he batted, and fans booed plate umpire Lazaro Diaz each time he called a strike on Jordan.

Jordan managed to run the count full leading off the third inning, and fouled off a 3-2 pitch before lifting a shallow fly to right.

In the fourth, Courtright, 23, knocked Jordan back with a high-and-tight fastball on his first pitch. Jordan never lost his balance completely and took his time getting back in the box, then struck out on a 2-2 fastball.

In the seventh, Jordan seemed overmatched. After taking a ball, he swung and missed at two pitches and checked his swing on strike three.

Jordan, the three-time NBA MVP, was left on deck when the game ended. He never got to show his speed on the bases, but then again, the rest of the Barons didn't do much at the plate, either. Five-time All-Star Steve Sax, on an injury rehabilitation assignment, went 0-for-4 and grounded into two double plays.