Naperville’s Hairston retires from baseball
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jerry Hairston Jr. is retiring after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his ninth professional baseball team.
The 37-year-old utilityman is the grandson of former major leaguer Sam Hairston and the son of former White Sox manager Jerry Hairston. His younger brother Scott also is a major league player.
Last season Hairston Jr. hit .211 with 2 homers and 22 RBIs in 204 at-bats.
He said on Twitter on Wednesday, “after 16 seasons decided retiring is my best opportunity. Game will not miss me but I will miss it and teammates immensely!”
Hairston has a .257 career average with 70 homers, 420 RBIs and 147 steals with Baltimore (1998-04), the Cubs (2005-06), Texas (2006-07), Cincinnati (2008-09), the World Series champion New York Yankees in 2009, San Diego (2010), Washington (2011), Milwaukee (2011) and the Dodgers.
Hairston was a former Daily Herald All-Area baseball player and two-time all-state honoree at Naperville North High School. He also was an all-area player in basketball.