Hey, Michael, the Slammers want your bat
From Submitted Reports February 21, 2013 11:09PM
Michael Jordan batsa for the White Sox vs. the Cubs in a 1994 exhibition game at Wrigley Field. | AP file photo
Updated: February 21, 2013 11:09PM
The Joliet Slammers are as interested as anyone to see if “His Airness” was serious about lacing them up at age 50.
Jordan hinted during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech, “One day you may look up and see me playing the game at 50.”
That created a buzz over last weekend as Jordan celebrated his 50th birthday.
The Slammers and general manager Chris Franklin feel everyone got worked up over the wrong sport.
“Who knows how the book is written if there was no Major League Baseball strike in 1994?” Franklin said. “It worked out pretty well for Michael and basketball fans around the world, but we would like to offer MJ the opportunity to write the final chapter by playing baseball for the Joliet Slammers or, at the very least, honor him in a way nobody else has.”
As the offer stands, Jordan would be granted a maximum Frontier League contract of $1,600 per month with $20 daily meal money and a host family if needed, although unlikely. Players typically receive two tickets per game on the pass list, but with the overwhelming amount of family and friends in the area, the Slammers would be willing to provide Jordan with a Loaded Luxury Suite for 23 people that includes an all-you-can-eat feature.
If Jordan decides to decline the Slammers’ offer, the team still would like to honor him in a way nobody else has by retiring his number 45 in a baseball stadium (Silver Cross Field) on June 5 when the Slammers meet the Windy City ThunderBolts. Details are pending Jordan’s decision.
