James J. Baldwin, Jr. (born July 15, 1971) is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, Texas Rangers and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Baldwin batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Playing career

Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round of the

1990 MLB draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

, Baldwin made his MLB debut on April 30, 1995, for the White Sox. In spring training of that same season, Baldwin was the first pitcher to face

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, in an intrasquad game in spring training. In , Baldwin made the

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

as a member of the White Sox. He pitched the third inning of that game, giving up

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

' second hit of the game, that being the only home run of the night, which ignited a short-lived

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

comeback. On January 24, , Baldwin signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, but was released on April 22.

Coaching career

Baldwin served as the pitching coach for the baseball team at

Pinecrest High School Pinecrest High School is ranked 105th within North Carolina. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® coursework and exams. The AP® participation rate at Pinecrest High School is 40%. The total minority enrollment is 38%, and 24% ...

in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He joined the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization and served as a rehabilitation coach at their Arizona complex from 2016 through 2019. He was named the pitching coach for the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

prior to the 2020 season.

Family

His son, James Baldwin III, a center fielder from

, was drafted in the fourth round and signed in 2010 by the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, James 1971 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast White Sox players High school baseball coaches in the United States Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Royals players Ottawa Lynx players People from Southern Pines, North Carolina Rochester Red Wings players Sarasota White Sox players Seattle Mariners players South Bend White Sox players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Texas Rangers players Toledo Mud Hens players Utica Blue Sox players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople