Unauthorized Author Unveils ‘Rookie’
Unauthorized.
Over and over, in “Rookie,” his book on Michael Jordan’s summer in Double-A baseball, author Jim Patton uses the word. He wears it proudly, almost defiantly.
What began as an innocent chronicling of Jordan’s attempt to master baseball became a crusade when Patton discovered he was - yes, unauthorized. The word was first used on him by David Falk, Jordan’s agent, and eventually greeted the author every time he sought access to his subject.
Refusing to surrender, Patton followed Jordan anyway, welcomed warmly on some Southern League fronts, rejected rudely on others. Among the toughest to crack were the Birmingham Barons, Jordan’s team, who greeted Patton with all the enthusiasm reserved for a contagious disease.
Even those who on first blush were friendly and helpful, like Barons manager Terry Francona and batting coach Mike Barnett, eventually retreated behind the magic word - unauthorized.
Patton wrote anyway, offering his observations from afar, sometimes from the stands, sometimes from the press boxes. He talked with those who would talk to him, people passing through, like Bill Buckner and Hal McRae, Garth Iorg and Buck Martinez, all ex-major leaguers with opinions on Jordan and his baseball ambitions.
His access to Jordan wound up located somewhere between limited and none, and Patton dwells on that issue at length. The major villain in the piece is Falk, referred to throughout as “Mister Falk.” The agent-lawyer is portrayed as a man interested only in lining Jordan’s already bulging coffers with additional funds.
The No. 2 villain is Chris Pika, who one day was innocently working in the front office of the Barons and the next minute had Mister Falk and Jordan dumped in his lap. By Patton’s account, Pika did not respond well to the responsibility, especially when it came to dealing with an author working on a book that was - you guessed it - unauthorized.
Even though he tries to be even-handed about things, Patton occasionally turns venomous, like when he describes Pika as “a dull-looking fellow with a premature potbelly and Deputy Dawg jowls.”
Denied audiences with Jordan, Patton used other devices. He sat in on the mass “one-time-only” press conferences that The Man conducted on his first stop in each league town.
Alienated by Falk’s gruff treatment, he got even, uncovering a bit of flim-flam. He revealed that Jordan never really bought a brand new bus for his team but instead used his considerable clout in getting one assigned to the Barons and was happy to take credit for the affair.
Patton writes warmly throughout of touring the sleepy South, following Jordan around, of visits to the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis where Martin Luther King was assassinated, and to Graceland, the shrine to Elvis Presley.
He also uses heavyweight quotes to open each chapter, among them passages from Voltaire, Euripedes, Homer and Aesop. All require only single name identification. Just like Michael.
His strongest quotes, though, come from his conversation with Mister Falk. “You’re trying to make money off Michael Jordan and you’re not sharing the proceeds with Michael Jordan charities,” he quotes Falk as saying. Astounded at that stance, Patton said, “I’m supposed to contribute to Michael’s charities?”
According to Patton, Falk responded by saying: “Or Michael might just want you to give the money to his children.”
From then on, “Rookie” was destined to be - unauthorized.