Name: Jerry Hairston
Rank: 61
Position: OF
Years With White Sox: 1973-1977,1981-1989
Jerry Hairston was selected by the White Sox in the 3rd round of the 1970 draft. He made his major league debut on July 26, 1973 in the second game of a double header, going 1-4 in a 1-0 loss to the Royals in Kansas City. Hairston appeared in 60 games for 1973 squad, hitting .271 with 23 RBI.
Hairston split the 1974 season between Triple A and Chicago, appearing in 45 games for the White Sox and hitting a disappointing .229. 1975 again saw Hairston splitting time between the minors and the big league team, appearing in 69 games and improving his average to .283. 1976 was another down year for Hairston, as his average dropped back to .227 in only 44 games for the White Sox.
Hairston played in only 13 games for the White Sox in 1977 before being purchased by the Pirates on June 13. After 4 seasons in the Mexican League, Hairston rejoined the White Sox in September of 1981. He appeared in 9 games and hit .280, including his first home run in a White Sox uniform.
Hairston spent the entire 1982 season on the south side for the first time, appearing in 85 games and hitting a disappointing .233 while setting a career high with 5 home runs. 1983 was a bounce back year for Hairston, who raised his average to .294 with another 5 home runs. He appeared in 2 games during the ALCS loss to the Orioles, going hitless in 3 at bats.
1984 was a disappointing year for the White Sox as they failed to repeat as Western Division champs, but Hairston saw the most playing time of his career. He set career highs in games played and at bats, hitting .260. Hairston struggled in 1985, as he saw his average drop to .243 in 95 games. 1986 was another bounce back year, as Hairston improved his average to .271 and tied his career high in home runs for the 4th time.
Hairston had another down year in 1987, appearing in just 66 games and hitting .230, his worst numbers since returning from Mexico. As spring training was winding down in 1988, Hairston was released, but he was resigned at the end of August and appeared in 2 games over the final month of the season, going hitless in 2 at bats. He was released again following the season and, once again, resigned with the White Sox in September of 1989, appearing in 3 games and getting 1 hit in 3 at bats. He was released again following the season and his career came to an end.
Hairston’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we point the wayback machine back to the 1980s and put our focus on the offensive leaders of that decade. As a reminder, I’ve identified 14 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 5 through 14.