Aaron Hope 
Michael Jordan’s retirement from basketball in 1993 was as unexpected as any in sports history. The three-time defending NBA Champion and undisputed greatest player in the world chose to leave the game while he was at his peak, and according to his autobiography, Jordan was considering leaving the game as early as the summer of ’92. MJ made his professional baseball debut exactly twenty years ago next Tuesday, and Jordan Brand will celebrate the occasion with a couple of Birmingham Barons colorways releasing on Saturday.
Those pairs hearken back to the very first Air Jordan baseball cleats, which were MCS-soled Jordan IXs, and from there, it was only a matter of time before some of MLB’s biggest names would begin to take the field in player exclusive Jordan spikes. So with this being MLB’s Opening Week and the 20th anniversary of the the first Air Jordan baseball cleats right around the corner, let’s take a look back at some of the most notable Jordan player exclusives to ever appear on a baseball diamond in this edition of Sneaker News NINE@NINE.
Michael Jordan – Air Jordan IX PE
There is one particularly famous pair of Jordan 9 cleats MJ wore in 1994 that has surfaced on a couple of online auction sites over the years. Thousands of dollars are exchanged whenever that home plate display changes hands, but that’s not the only Michael Jordan game worn pair in existence, as a few others have emerged over the years via online photos and auction listings.
Source: vivid.vintage on eBay
Deion Sanders – Air Jordan XI PE
Deion Sanders seems to be the first guy who ever got his hands on a pair of Jordan 11 spikes. Sanders’ ‘Prime Time’ PE was completely dipped in black patent leather, with red accents connecting to his years with the Cincinnati Reds.
Source: osneaker.com
Derek Jeter – Air Jordan VI PE
Derek Jeter has been Jordan Brand’s baseball cornerstone for almost two decades. When the Air Jordan VI first retroed back in 2000, JB made Jeter a cleated version, which he wore during that season as the Yankees went on to win their third straight World Series, and fourth in five years.
Source: bluphi1 on eBay
CC Sabathia – Air Jordan IV PE
CC Sabathia no doubt has one of the most prolific resumes when it comes to Air Jordan baseball PEs. Sabathia took to the mound in these Jordan 4 cleats during the 2011 season, with his custom ’52’ embroidery-equipped pair showing up a year prior to JB’s latest round of AJ4 retro releases.
Source: tylerdurdan24 on eBay
Andruw Jones – Air Jordan III Turf Trainer PE
Andruw Jones had an interesting career, in that he was a Golden Gloved All-Star who hit over 400 home runs, yet he’s often forgotten when it comes to discussing his era’s Hall of Fame candidates. Among several of The Curaçao Kid’s Jordan PEs was this blue, white and red pair he could have worn with any of his first three MLB teams.
Source: kh00712 on eBay
Jimmy Rollins – Air Jordan XI PE
In one of the boldest instances of a spiked Air Jordan 11, this pair was made for Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jimmy Rollins, a key contributor to the Phills’ 2008 World Series victory, and proud owner of several Jordan 12 PEs as well.
Source: PE Vault
David Price – Air Jordan XII PE
The Tampa Bay Rays have given CC and the Yankees all they can handle in recent years, and one of the reasons that team has evolved into a perennial playoff contender is the young superstar David Price. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner parlayed MLB’s top pitching honor into a special edition Jordan 12 cleat that added his ‘DP14’ ID to an ‘Obsidian’-ish colorway.
Source: David Price
CC Sabathia – Air Jordan XI PE
The New York Yankees captured their twenty-seventh World Series title in 2009, thanks in large part to the cheese dispenser that is CC Sabathia’s left arm. Sabathia took to wearing Jordan 11 cleats that season, so when the occasion of his 200th MLB victory rolled around, JB outfitted him with a special blacked-out colorway complete with his wins total and a silhouette of his delivery on the tongue.
Source: jumpman23
Michael Jordan – Air Jordan X PE
The season-ending 1994 MLB strike seemed to be the last straw for MJ’s baseball career. Had he stuck it out and continued working his way up through the Chicago White Sox farm system, he might have ended up trotting out this Jordan 10 spikes for the following season. This one moved from the molded polymer cleat found on the 9s to a steel spiked sole, but the silhouette is one we remember not from rounding the bases, but from “I’m back.”
Source: vivid.vintage on eBay
