Gerald Laird
Gerald Laird | |
---|---|
Catcher | |
Born: Westminster, California, U.S. | November 13, 1979|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 30, 2003, for the Texas Rangers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
April 8, 2015, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .243 |
Home runs | 38 |
Runs batted in | 238 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Career
Oakland Athletics
Laird first attended
Texas Rangers
Shortly before the 2002 season Oakland traded Laird to the Texas Rangers along with outfielder Ryan Ludwick, Jason Hart and Mario Ramos, for slugging first baseman Carlos Peña and southpaw relief pitcher Mike Venafro.[2] Texas assigned Laird to its Double-A Tulsa Drillers, where his strong defensive play and improved batting average (.276) drew plaudits.[3]
He joined the Rangers for 2003
Laird won the Rangers' starting catching job in 2004
Detroit Tigers
On December 8, 2008, he was traded to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals signed Laird to a one-year contract for the 2011 season, where he won his first World Series ring as backup catcher to All-Star Yadier Molina.[13]
Detroit Tigers (second stint)
On November 18, 2011, the Detroit Tigers welcomed Laird back with a one-year contract for the 2012 season as backup catcher to Alex Avila while slugger Victor Martinez, often used as a DH rather than as a catcher in any event, was on the disabled list for the entire season. He rewarded them by hitting .282, often hitting DH, in the regular season and helping them come back from well behind the Chicago White Sox to win their second consecutive AL Central Division title, edge the powerful young upstart Oakland Athletics 3–2 in the ALDS thanks to defending MVP Justin Verlander's stellar pitching in Games 1 & 5, and then sweep the suddenly discombobulated New York Yankees 4–0 in the ALCS. Laird had the key hit that put the Tiger's ahead in Kansas City the night they beat the Royals to clinch the AL Central for 2012. He was in his second World Series in a row, which the Tigers lost to the San Francisco Giants 4–0, and became a free agent on October 29.[14]
Atlanta Braves
After former Braves backup David Ross signed with Boston for a two-year contract early in the off-season, the Braves scavenged the open market for a backup catcher. They found Laird, signing him to a two-year, $3 million contract with up to $750,000 in performance bonuses based on games played.[15] With Brian McCann leaving in free agency, Laird handled the primary backup role to Evan Gattis in 2014. Laird ended his tenure with the Braves posting a .204 batting average.[16]
Arizona Diamondbacks
On February 2, 2015, he signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[17] A back injury sustained during the first month of the season ended Laird's season.[18][19] He was designated for assignment on August 20, 2015, and released on August 24.[20][21]
Toros de Tijuana
On June 16, 2016, Laird signed with the
Minor league managing career
He retired at the end of the 2016 season to become the manager of the Single-A
Personal life
Laird is represented by sports agent Scott Boras. His younger brother, Brandon has also played in MLB.
References
- Contra Costa Times. p. C03.
- ^ Saxon, Mark (January 15, 2002). "A's acquire first base prospect; Oakland gets Peña in six-player deal with the Rangers". Oakland Tribune.
- ^ "Drillers Update". Tulsa World. June 11, 2002. p. B3.
- ^ "USA Baseball Roster". Associated Press. October 28, 2003.
- ^ Sullivan, T.R. (May 22, 2004). "Injuries piling up around the majors". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ^ Antonen, Mel (March 12, 2006). "Teams place help wanted ads in search of catchers; Finding right balance on offense, defense proves elusive". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
- ^ Hawkins, Stephen (February 26, 2007). "Laird finally has the starting job and a clear direction with Rangers". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
- ^ "Gerald Laird Stats – St. Louis Cardinals – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. November 13, 1979. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "Jarrod Saltalamacchia Stats". Sports.espn.go.com. May 2, 1985. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "2011 Postseason MLB Baseball 1B Fielding Statistics". Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "Tigers acquire Gerald Laird from Texas Rangers". MLB.com. December 8, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ Beck, Jason; Alex DiFilippo (May 29, 2010). "Laird changes jersey number". MLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ "Cardinals sign Laird to be backup catcher". MLB.com. December 14, 2010.
- ^ "Tigers make it official: Gerald Laird will be backup catcher". freep.com. November 18, 2011.
- ^ "Laird gets two-year Braves deal". Msn.foxsports.com. November 19, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
- ^ "Gerald Laird Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ Sanchez, Jesse (April 11, 2015). "Laird scratched with tight back, could be headed to DL". MLB.com.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - ^ Sanchez, Jesse (April 12, 2015). "D-backs recall Schugel, place Laird on DL". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ^ Gilbert, Steve (April 13, 2015). "Pacheco slides into D-backs' backup-catcher role". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ^ Bondy, Robert (August 20, 2015). "D-backs put Hellickson on DL, recall Anderson". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ^ Gilbert, Steve (August 25, 2015). "Chacin called up; Bradley off DL, to Triple-A". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ^ "Tigers Announce 2017 Coaching Staff". milb.com. December 13, 2016.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)