May 3, 2015 4 min read

You can make a strong case that Saturday was one of the best days ever to watch sports on television, especially if you had an extra $100 handy to purchase the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight on pay-per-view.

Sports junkies could watch the final day of the NFL draft, the middle game of the Pirates-St. Louis Cardinals series, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Kentucky Derby without having to get off the couch.

There also was Game 7 of the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs, and one person in Washington had more than casual interest in the game’s outcome. That would be Cory Jordan, a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who is in spring training with the Wild Things.

Jordan is the younger brother of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who had grabbed 14 rebounds and scored seven points in the decisive game.

“I’ve been glued to the TV during the games,” Cory Jordan said.

DeAndre and Cory are two of four athletic Jordan brothers who grew up in Bellaire, Texas. DeAndre Jordan is 6-11 and 265 pounds. Brett Jordan is a 6-5, 265-pound defensive end for Colorado State’s football team. Avery Jordan is the youngest of the group, and he’s a 6-7, 270-pound defensive end for Blinn Junior College.

“I’m the runt,” Cory Jordan said with a smile.

That is, if you can consider somebody who stands 6-5 and weighs 230 pounds to be a runt.

Jordan is one of three players signed in January by the Wild Things out of the California Winter League. He comes to Washington with one year of professional baseball experience, that in 2013 after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 35th round out of Grambling University.

He played one season for Hudson Valley in the Class A New York-Penn League, averaging one strikeout per inning, but the Rays released him late March of last year.

“Being released caught me by surprise,” Jordan said. “I had thrown only four or five innings in spring training and didn’t give up a run. I felt good about my situation with the Rays, then one day I was called into the office and told I was released. They said it was a numbers game.”

As professional pitchers go, Jordan can be considered inexperienced. A multi-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) in high school, Jordan didn’t become a pitcher until his senior year.

“One day one of the coaches asked me if I could throw a bullpen session to see what I could do as a pitcher,” Jordan recalled. “When I was done, he said, ‘From now on, don’t bring your bat to school. You’re a pitcher.'”

Jordan pitched well his senior year, but these days major college coaches usually start recruiting high school players long before they are seniors. So Jordan went to San Jacinto Junior College for a year and then to Grambling because it was the first major college to offer him a scholarship.

Despite being relatively new to pitching, Jordan’s baseball career was going well until being released by the Rays in 2013. Since then, he’s been trying to find a team that is willing to develop a young pitcher. He had a tryout with the Rockland Boulders of the independent Can-Am League last spring but was released. He also had a look from Florence of the Frontier League, but the Freedom had no openings on the roster.

So Jordan sat out last year and tried to become a better pitcher without the benefit of professional games. In Los Angeles, he worked with former major league pitcher and pitching coach Tom House, the guy who is best remembered for catching Hank Aaron’s famous 715th home run.

“He gave me the blueprint,” Jordan said of House. “I’ve rededicated myself to the game. I learned how to pitch. Now, I’m a pitcher. Before, if I had a good outings I didn’t know why, and with that comes inconsistency. After working with Tom House, I know how my body works.”

Jordan’s body wasn’t working well Sunday. He has been slowed in camp by a hamstring injury, but manager Bob Bozzuto likes his pitcher’s potential.

“I’m just looking for a chance,” Jordan said. “I’m dedicated to the game and doing things right.”