Jordan’s New Career Takes Off in Double-A : Baseball: Former NBA great believes playing with Birmingham will make or break him as a baseball player.

Michael Jordan will begin his career as a pro baseball player at Double-A Birmingham of the Southern League, where his longest road trip will be a 12-hour bus ride and his meal money will be $16 a day.

The Chicago White Sox assigned Jordan to the Birmingham Barons on Thursday, and said he will play his first game April 8 at home against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

“I think it’s a level where I’ll either make myself or break myself,” Jordan said.

Before joining the Barons, however, he’ll play for the White Sox against the crosstown Cubs in the annual Windy City Classic on April 7. Then, he’ll trade in the high-life luxury of the majors for the daily grind of the minors.

“Unfortunately, when you’re a first-year player, you only make $850 a month,” White Sox general manager Ron Schueler said. “He’s not going to be buying many meals now. It will be interesting to see him get on that bus for the first time.”

That means dinner breaks at places like McDonald’s, Waffle House and Cracker Barrel. The Barons will spend a lot of nights in Holiday Inns--they used to stay at the Super 8 in Huntsville, Ala., but have changed hotels this season.

The longest road trip for Jordan and the Barons will be to Orlando, about 525 miles and 12 hours on the bus. It’s about the same distance to Jacksonville, and maybe 10 hours to Zebulon, N.C., home of the Carolina Mudcats.

While the life may not be glamorous, it’s what Jordan and the White Sox wanted. At Triple-A Nashville, he might have been overmatched at the start; at Class A Hickory, N.C., or South Bend, Ind., it might’ve been too tough to tell how he measured up.

Jordan played for Class A Prince William, Va., on Thursday and went zero for four against Pittsburgh’s farm team from Salem, Va. He is four for 26 in seven minor-league games.

The rookie right fielder was three for 20 with four walks and a sacrifice fly in major league exhibitions for the White Sox.

“I’m really looking forward to it, hitting-wise,” Jordan said. “The competition will certainly get me prepared so I know where I need to be. Hopefully it is competitive, and hopefully I’ll respond well to it.

“My main objective,” he said, “is to do well as long as I can and let them decide if I’m good enough to move up.”