A special cleated version of the IX's was made and helped him in his Birmingham Barons baseball career. As Michael had placed the basketball on the curb he decided to take on the game of baseball. On October 6th 1993, Jordan gave the basketball world a shock when he announced his retirement from the NBA. A special cleated version of the Air Jordans 9’s was made and helped him in his Birmingham Barons baseball career.The Air Jordan 9 was released in 1993. We offer great Air Jordan Retro 9 shoes at discounted price and free shipping. The Air Jordan's had not disappeared from the courts though. Known as player samples there were Air Jordan IX's being produced with not only 23 on the back, but with individual numbers for players such as Kendall Gill 13, and Mitch Richmond 2.