Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Jerry Wayne Hairston, Jr. is a professional baseball player from the United States of America and specializes as a utility player.

Hairston attended Southern Illinois University and in 1997, was picked by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1997 Major League Draft. His debut for the Orioles came a year later and for 7 years, played at the top level for the Orioles. He played 558 games with a batting average of .261 before being traded out to the Chicago Cubs, along with Mike Fontenot and David Crouthers, for Sammy Sosa.

The Cubs had planned to use Hairston as their leadoff man but his 2005 ended with a .336 on-base percentage and had just 8 stolen bases. His playing career at the Cubs went from bad to worse in 2006 and he was traded out to the Texas Rangers in May 2006. At the end of the season, Hairston was released by the Rangers but the following season, he was handed a minor league contract along with an invite to spring training. He was picked up as the reserve utility player on the opening day of the season. Injuries and trades opened up the opportunity for Hairston to get a regular playing place.

In 2008, Hairston signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds and a month later, in April, his contract was bought by the Reds and Hairston was part of their MLB team. He extended his contract with the Reds for another year in a contract that guarantees him $2 million for the season.