Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 22, 2020 Fateful Decision: Michael Jordan’s decision to try pro baseball may have had an effect on the career of Malden’s Cappuccio: They even said it on Sports Center (Following is Part Two of two-part series telling the story of how a decision by the greatest player in NBA history, Michael Jordan, may very well have had an effect on the professional baseball fate of Malden High School’s greatest athlete, Carmine Cappuccio.) By Steve Freker I t was February 7, 1994, and big news in Chicago that day was how the Bulls had heated up in a hurry, winning 21-of-24 games, jumping to fourth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings. The Atlanta Hawks, led by Dominique Wilkins and former Boston College star John Bagley and the Patrick Ewing-fueled New York Knicks, were 1-2 in the East at the time. Much was being made of the Bulls’ hot streak as the threetime defending NBA champs were apparently getting on just fine without the services of the legendary Michael Jordan, who had shocked the world three months and a day earlier, when he announced his retirement. Before that day was out, however, it would be the man who many call the greatest player in NBA history that would make the earth move once again. In a press release out of another of Chicago professional sports team’s office, it was announced that Jordan had signed a minor league contract with the baseball White Sox. At the time, both the Bulls and the White Sox were owned by sports conglomerate builder Jerry Reinsdorff. Check that Richter scale, folks, here was another seismic announcement with the most recognizable athlete in the world, front and center. Though not unheard of, after all, Bo “Knows Everything” Jackson was on the White Sox roster at the time, and Deion “Primetime” Sanders was playing football for the two Atlanta franchises, football Falcons and baseball Braves, at the time. But this was different. This was Michael Jordan. Plus, he wasn’t talking about playing two sports, just the one: baseball. Think LeBron James retiring and going to the NFL Think LeBron James retiring from the NBA and then announcing he would be strapping on a football helmet for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. Or Mike Trout putting away his bat and glove and telling the world he would next be seen skating in the NHL for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Even though these statements today would be mind-boggling and seem outlandish, to say the least, multiply all that times 100. It was Michael Jordan saying and doing this. Of course, a common reaction to all this was “This isn’t real...it’s all just a hoax, wait and see.” Everyone waited, then they saw Jordan suited up at White Sox spring training in Sarasota, Fla., a couple of weeks later. He dressed in the same locker room with Bo Jackson and the rest of the major leaguers and even played in a game against the Cleveland Indians against a hot prospect who simply pounded the ball to gaps with authority, when he wasn’t hitting it over the fence. That guy, also an outfielder, STATS CARD: Here is a look at Carmine Cappuccio’s professional baseball stats through the years, on the back of his Winnipeg Goldeyes card. Everett Aluminum 10 Everett Ave., Everett 617-389-3839 Owned & operated by the Conti family since 1958 • 57 Years! “Same name, phone number & address for family since 1958 • 62 over half a century. We must be doing something right!” •Vinyl Siding •Free Estimates •Carpentry Work •Fully Licensed •Decks •Roof • Fully Insured • Replacement Windows www.everettaluminum.com •Roo ng Now’s the time to schedule those home improvement projects you’ve been dreaming about all winter! did not even get the big league spring training media attention or instant recognition that Jordan got that spring. The Indian prospect? Mr. Manny Ramirez, who would go on to hit 555 homers and help bring the Red Sox two World Series titles in the following decade. Up-and-coming Malden prospect, Cappuccio There were also a trio of more fine, up-and-coming young outfielders on the other side of the White Sox Sarasota spring training complex toiling away who also were not illuminated in the spotlight which shone brightly on Michael Jordan that spring. The threesome included two future major leaguers and a Malden, Mass., native who had done what most every professional athlete does on their way up the ladder: rip it up and own every level of play. Malden’s Carmine Cappuccio had just come off his best professional baseball season to date, joining his fellow outfield prospects Mike Cameron and Jimmy Hurst in leading the South Bend (Indiana) White Sox to a Midwest League championship. Cappuccio hit .305, his highest average in his pro career, with four homers and 52 RBIs in 101 games in 1993 for South Bend. He was among the team leaders in extra base hits (26 doubles, six triples) and led all everyday players in OPS (.813). Cappuccio was key man in a strong outfield contingent which included the likes of Cameron and Hurst, who hit 20 home runs that season. The 1994 season looked like it could be a big one as to moving up the Chicago White Sox baseball ladder, for all three prospects. Who knows? maybe one, two or perhaps all of the three might get a shot at a roster spot at the Double-A level, which that year was the Birmingham (Alabama) Barons. Cappuccio was in his third year of professional baseball, Cameron and Hurst in their fourth. All three had legitimate consideration at a Double-A roster spot. Those in the know tell of the value of that Double-A year. “It’s a blink away from the big leagues, for most organizations. Double-A ball is where teams fine-tune and ready their players for the majors,” a seasoned Atlanta Braves scout named John Stewart told me a few years after that 1993 season when he was scouting another Malden High-bred future pro, Kevin McGlinchy. McGlinchy later became Malden’s second pro of the 1990s when he was picked in the fifth round by the Braves in the 1995 MLB draft. Double-A: a blink away from the big leagues A blink away. So that Double-A spot is pretty valuable real estate when it comes to a professional baseball career, especially if you just turned 24 years old a week before Jordan’s big news announcement, as Cappuccio had done. Still another shoe dropped about a week and a half before spring training broke in March 1994 when it was announced that the most famous minor league baseball player in the world, Michael Jordan, would be FATEFUL DECISION | SEE PAGE 12 Spring!
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