Philadelphia's first-round pick in the June 1983 draft, Jordan was called up in mid-1988 when Von Hayes went on the DL. He won the first base job (with Hayes moving to the outfield on his return) by hitting .308 with 11 homers in 273 at-bats. In 1989, his only full season as the Phillies' regular first baseman, he hit .285 with 12 homers and 75 RBI despite an injury early in the season.
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Jordan (not to be confused with Ricardo Jordan, who pitched for Philadelphia in 1996) stayed with the Phils until the players' strike hit in 1994, but mostly in a reserve role. He always had trouble against right-handed pitching, and never had enough power to win an everyday job. In 1992, the Phillies briefly used him in the outfield, but the experiment was abandoned after a few weeks. Troubled by shoulder injuries late in his career, he called it quits after a brief stint as Paul Sorrento's platoon-mate at first base in Seattle in 1996. (SH/JGR)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 6, 1983: The Twins select pitcher Tim Belcher with the first pick in the annual June free-agent draft, but Belcher will reject their $125,000 signing bonus offer and pitch for Team USA in the Pan American Games instead. He is the only first-rounder who doesn't sign. Belcher will be the first selected in the January 1984 draft. The Twins 2nd round pick, P Billy Swift, also doesn't sign. The Reds take Kurt Stillwell with the 2nd pick overall and Chris Sabo on round 2. Roger Clemens is taken with the 19th pick. The A's get Terry Steinbach, Brian Dorsett, and Greg Cadaret on the 9th, 10th and 11th rounds. The Phillies pick Ricky Jordan on the 1st round. The Reds pick up Stillwell in the 1st round, Sabo and Joe Oliver in the 2nd round, Lenny Harris (5th) and Jeff Montgomery (9th).
»July 17, 1988: Philadelphia's Ricky Jordan homers in his first ML at bat and the Phillies go on to beat Houston 10–4.
»August 29, 1992: After striking out his 1,000th career batter in Atlanta’s 7-6 win over Philadelphia, Braves P Charlie Leibrandt rolls the ball into the Atlanta dugout to keep as a souvenir. Unfortunately, he forgets to call time, and the runner Ricky Jordan on base is allowed to advance on the error.
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