If you don’t know who Michael Jordan is, you have either been in a coma for the last thirty years or you have come from another planet (although even people from other planets knew who Jordan was in his prime). It’s his 50th birthday today. Go below the jump for stuff on him:

Anyway, here are his stats with the Birmingham Barons in 1994:

Interestingly, there is some evidence to suggest that Michael was getting better as he went on. In the Arizona Fall League, for example, he hit .252. While that is hardly something that would have gotten him called up to the big leagues, it is quite an improvement over his .202 Southern League average. And it is remarkable in itself that any 31-year old would hit even .202 against AA pitching after not having played competitive baseball since High School. In fact, to this day his manager, Terry Francona, admires the fact that Jordan was able to do that. If you watch the Ron Shelton documentary Jordan Rides The Bus, you get the feeling that maybe, had he stuck with it, Michael would have eventually made it to the Big Leagues. Not as a star, and probably not even as a regular, but in some sort of role.

That said, I think everybody can agree it was a good move of his to go back to the NBA.