HOOVER, Ala. - You can't see the minor leagues in their natural state when Michael Jordan plays in them. His presence changes baseball's basic nature.
Not in a bad way, as with the designated hitter or wild-card playoff teams, but in many definitive ways.
When Jordan comes to bat, flashbulbs pop all over the stadium. If he hits a deep fly ball, he is cheered - even if it is caught. Pitchers who strike him out, as many do, later ask him to sign the ball.
And turnstiles click at an unprecedented pace. The Class AA Birmingham (Ala.) Barons draw sellout crowds on the road and big crowds at home. At their current pace, they'll play before roughly 1.2 million fans this season, home and away.
And that pace figures to increase now that area school systems are in summer recess.
"That's good news because everyone loves Michael, but kids most of all," Barons general manager Bill Hardekopf says. "Our attendance is already up 75 percent over last year. When school is out, it's going to get crazy."
The Barons invite a youth league team to join them on the field for the national anthem before each home game. The popular promotion is called Field of Dreams. The kids stand with the player who plays the same position they do - which is why so many Alabama kids want to be right fielders these days.
Jake Rimington, 5, plays right for Dave's Discount Drugs Blue Jays in suburban Birmingham. He was the envy of his kindergarten class after meeting Michael. How was it?
"Very awesome," Jake says. "His hand is pretty strong. I watched him on TV so much, but I never met him before."
Which is one of the nice things about Jordan's tour through the Southern League, which has 10 outposts in places such as Chattanooga, Tenn., and Zebulon, N.C.: People have a chance to see Jordan play who never had the chance before.
When Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired, they toured the NBA in their last seasons accumulating gifts and cheers from the same crowds that had watched them play for years.
Jordan's swan song, if that's what this is, is being played before small-town folks paying $5.50 for box seats and $3.50 for bleachers.
"I never wanted a retirement tour in the NBA," Jordan says. "This is nice that fans who never saw me play in person can see me here. But that's not why I'm doing this. I just wanted to play baseball."
Jordan played it well for awhile. But his average has dropped like a stone of late - from .333 to .200 since pitchers learned to feed him a steady diet of breaking pitches.
No matter. Fans still gather along the right-field line before games hoping for autographs. This night, Jordan walks toward a clump of kids. A murmur of excitement goes up. Next he feigns a step away, smiling as he teases them. Finally he obliges, signing and moving fast along the cement barrier toward the dugout.
Spence Tribble, 13, moves back several rows and surveys the treasure he has just acquired. There, on the cover of I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence ($12, Harper San Francisco), is Jordan's signature in silver. Tribble has thought far enough ahead to bring a silver-ink pen as well as a plastic freezer bag with which to seal the slim hardcover book during the game.
"I'm going to frame it, the whole book," he says. "I feel excited - and relieved. I've been trying for so long."
The joy is not reciprocal. Jordan does not like signing autographs so much anymore. His celebrity is too big. He fears someone getting hurt.
"It's a tough situation," Jordan says. "I don't like to do it that much because there is always so much pushing and shoving. What if someone gets crushed? I won't do it if it looks like it could get out of control."
But in minor league terms Jordan mania is already out of control, even in the limited souvenirs for sale.
"We sold more merchandise in the first month he was here than we did in the first eight months of last year," Hardekopf says.
That mostly means caps and T-shirts with the Barons logo. The Barons can't sell a thing with Jordan's likeness on it, but do sell caps and T-shirts with Jordan's number (45) on them. Those are big sellers.
"Sales have been skyrocketing," says Elizabeth Golson, who mans the souvenir stand behind home plate. "People buy stuff because they hope they can get Jordan to sign it."
Barons media relations director Chris Pika won't ask for an autograph: "He's already autographed my career."
"No matter where I go for the rest of my life that will always be part of it - I worked with Michael Jordan."
It's the same for the Barons. Hardekopf expects the franchise to remain famous as Jordan's first pro baseball team long after Jordan has moved on. "We think Michael will do for us what Bull Durham did for the Durham (N.C.) Bulls," Hardekopf says of the 1988 movie. "Durham is still one of the most popular minor league teams. We think we'll have a national presence for years to come because of Michael.
"He'll still be helping us long after he's gone."
THE JORDAN WATCH
An update on Class AA Birmingham (Ala.) Barons outfielder Michael Jordan's performance: -- Monday's result: Went 1-for-4 with an infield single in a 6-1 loss to Hunstville (Ala.). He also struck out once, was caught stealing and committed an error. -- Season: Jordan is batting .199 (39-for-195) in 53 games. He has 31 singles and eight doubles. He has driven in 21 runs, stolen 15 bases in 23 attempts and struck out 56 times. He has walked 16 times and scored 15 runs. He has made six errors, had 79 putouts and one outfield assist. -- Today: vs. Huntsville
