Jerry Wayne Hairston Sr. (born February 16, 1952) is an American former

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, and the father of

Jerry Hairston Jr. Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ranger ...

and

Scott Hairston Scott Alexander Hairston (born May 25, 1980) is a Mexican-American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, ...

. During his 14-year career, Hairston specialized as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

Career

Hairston played 14 seasons in the majors, mostly 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and part of one season with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. He also played three years (from 1978 to 1980) with

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. Hairston is the White Sox's all-time leader in pinch hits. While playing in Mexico, Hairston won a batting title and twice represented Mexican League teams at the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

. He met his wife, Esperanza Arellano, in

Hermosillo, Mexico Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

and the couple held a wedding ceremony at Héctor Espino Stadium. On April 15, , Hairston broke a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

bid by

Milt Wilcox Milton Edward Wilcox (born April 20, 1950) is an American former baseball pitcher. He pitched for 16 years in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds (1970–1971), Cleveland Indians (1972–1974), Chicago Cubs (1975), Detroit Tigers (1977 ...

of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, singling with two out in the ninth inning. Hairston is the White Sox's all-time leader in pinch hits with 90, hitting .258 in 349 plate appearances as a pinch hitter with 8 home runs.

Personal life

Hairston was raised a

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

by his father, and credits his faith for getting him through four seasons in Mexico. He is the son of former major leaguer, Sam, and the brother of another,

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

. He is also the father of

and

. The Hairston family is one of only three families (along with the Boone family and the

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

family) to have had three generations of major league players.

References

External links

1952 births Living people African-American baseball players Alacranes de Durango players Alacranes de Campeche players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American Jehovah's Witnesses Appleton Foxes players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Birmingham, Alabama Chicago White Sox players Denver Bears players Diablos Rojos del México players Gulf Coast White Sox players Iowa Oaks players Knoxville Sox players Major League Baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball managers Minor league baseball managers Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Piratas de Campeche managers Piratas de Campeche players Pittsburgh Pirates players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1950s-stub

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links