It’s Play Ball for Retired Jordan

Michael Jordan, who said he retired from basketball to get away from the public eye, has been thrust back into it.

Jordan signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox on Monday and was invited to spring training as a non-roster player.

His contract is with the Nashville Sounds of the triple-A American Assn. If nothing else, Jordan will help the Sounds sell tickets. Even though Jordan may not make the club, the Sounds sold $60,000 worth of season tickets after the announcement. A season ticket is priced at $360. Single-game tickets will go on sale today.

Jordan agreed to consider going to the minor leagues as long as the White Sox thought he had the potential to make it to the majors.

He is still being paid by the Bulls this season, a salary reported to be $4 million.

“I chose to try to play baseball just to see if I could,” Jordan said. “I’m not doing it as a distraction, and I’m not doing it as a media hog or looking for the media exposure from it. It’s one of the wishes my father had and I had as a kid.”

On Monday, Jordan, 30, went through a workout in a gym at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He said he’ll report to spring training next week at Sarasota, Fla.

“I’ve never been afraid to fail,” Jordan said. “That’s something you have to deal with in reality. I think I’m strong enough as a person to accept failure. But I can’t accept not trying.”

Not that Jordan expects to fail.

“I think I’ve improved tremendously,” said Jordan, who has been working out underneath Comiskey Park for the last two months with some White Sox players and personnel. “My motto has been, ‘It’s no gimmick.’ ”

The White Sox, who are planning to send Jordan to their minor-league camp once it commences, privately are worried that Jordan’s presence will create a distraction.

Manager Gene Lamont has told friends he is opposed to the idea, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf has said he simply can’t say no to Jordan’s request. Reinsdorf has told associates that he believes that once Jordan realizes he has no future in baseball, he will return to the Chicago Bulls for the 1994-95 season.