Lefty
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I can't wait until Scott plays for the Diamondbacks. This guy is a stud.
Greg Hansen
In 36 years of Pacific Coast League baseball, Tucson has been blessed with five No. 1 draft picks working their way up. Isn't that what the baseball people call it? Working their way up?
The Toros/Sidewinders have had the No. 1 overall pick, Phil Nevin, the No. 2 choice, Travis Lee, and they've had a No. 3, Phil Garner.
They've had first-rounders Craig Biggio and Billy Wagner combine to make 10 All-Star Games. They've had a 17th-round pick, Kenny Lofton, go to six All-Star Games. They have had an undrafted free agent, Bobby Abreu, earn $9.1 million a year.
So it might be stretching it to claim that Sidewinders second baseman Scott Hairston, currently working his way up, is the best prospect to blow through town in more than three decades.
But he's close.
If anyone was born to be a ballplayer, it's Scott Hairston, Canyon del Oro, Class of '99, son of former Chicago White Sox outfielder Jerry Hairston, and brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr.
After Hairston hit a walk-off triple in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday, giving the Sidewinders a 5-4 victory over the Portland Beavers, he motioned to 3-year-old Michael Zinter, son of Sidewinders first baseman Alan Zinter, who was using the clubhouse as a playhouse.
"That was me 17 years ago," said Hairston. "I grew up in baseball. I've never thought about any other career than being a baseball player."
Hairston has been anointed the Diamondbacks' No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, which guarantees nothing but a few nice headlines. But his on-field performance in three minor-league seasons - 48 home runs, a .310 batting average, two All-Star seasons - leaves no question about his upside.
"In a best-case scenario," Sidewinders manager Chip Hale said Wednesday, "he could hit 30 to 40 home runs a year" in the big leagues.
Hairston is a third-generation ballplayer; his grandfather, Sammy, was the White Sox's first black ballplayer, in 1951. But neither grandpa Sammy, nor father Jerry, nor brother Jerry Jr., had the advance notice of Scott, 23, who signed a $400,000 bonus contract with the Diamondbacks three years ago.
If all goes according to the D'backs' master plan, Hairston will be ready for opening day 2005, giving them a run-producing middle infielder, one of the most coveted players in the game. The one thing Hairston lacks is, simply, at-bats. Through Wednesday, he had 1,138 minor-league plate appearances.
Here's a good comparison: before emerging as a big-league hitter, ex-Diamondbacks second baseman Junior Spivey had about 1,600 minor-league at-bats. The D'backs' latest second baseman bred via Tucson, Matt Kata, had almost 1,900 minor-league at-bats.
The benefactor of what is likely to be Hairston's final year of seasoning will be the Sidewinders; if Hairston produces as well over the next four months as he has in the first week of his Class AAA life - a .333 batting average with six extra base hits - the Sidewinders' robust 6-1 start should translate into pennant contention.
"I'm not thinking about" the Diamondbacks, Hairston said. "I'm comfortable here. I've settled in. I get to play at home. We're winning. There's nothing wrong with that."
If you are late absorbing this local-player-makes-good angle, it's understandable. Hairston didn't move to Tucson until 1998-99, his senior year in high school. The family moved from Illinois because Jerry Hairston, a career White Sox player and coach, was hired to manage Chicago's rookie league team that played summer ball in Tucson for two years. (He now manages the White Sox Appalachian League team in Bristol, Va.)
By luck of the draw, the Hairstons settled in Oro Valley, in the CDO attendance area. Talk about good fortune; the Dorados of 1998-99 included St. Louis' eventual No. 2 draft pick, Chris Duncan; last year's White Sox No. 1 draft pick, Brian Anderson; and Arizona State's All-Pac-10 pitcher Ryan Schroyer.
CDO last year placed two of its former players in the major leagues: pitcher Jason Stanford at Cleveland and outfielder Colin Porter with Houston.
"It was a good situation at CDO," said Hairston. "There's a lot of tradition there; I'm glad to be part of it."
Soon, he might be at the head of it.
Hairston carries himself like a ballplayer. If you know anything about the game, it takes about 10 seconds of Hairston-watching to compile a preliminary scouting report: He's big enough, strong enough and athletic enough. His minor-league statistics are powerful evidence he will hit enough.
His mental approach? "He's a very passionate player," said Hale. After striking out in his first two at-bats Wednesday, both on disputed called strikes, Hairston argued aggressively with umpire Lance Barksdale.
Hairston had enough presence of mind to know when enough was enough. He bit his tongue, stayed in the game, and in the bottom of the ninth, won the game for his club.
One suspects we're going to be seeing a lot more of that.
Greg Hansen
In 36 years of Pacific Coast League baseball, Tucson has been blessed with five No. 1 draft picks working their way up. Isn't that what the baseball people call it? Working their way up?
The Toros/Sidewinders have had the No. 1 overall pick, Phil Nevin, the No. 2 choice, Travis Lee, and they've had a No. 3, Phil Garner.
They've had first-rounders Craig Biggio and Billy Wagner combine to make 10 All-Star Games. They've had a 17th-round pick, Kenny Lofton, go to six All-Star Games. They have had an undrafted free agent, Bobby Abreu, earn $9.1 million a year.
So it might be stretching it to claim that Sidewinders second baseman Scott Hairston, currently working his way up, is the best prospect to blow through town in more than three decades.
But he's close.
If anyone was born to be a ballplayer, it's Scott Hairston, Canyon del Oro, Class of '99, son of former Chicago White Sox outfielder Jerry Hairston, and brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr.
After Hairston hit a walk-off triple in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday, giving the Sidewinders a 5-4 victory over the Portland Beavers, he motioned to 3-year-old Michael Zinter, son of Sidewinders first baseman Alan Zinter, who was using the clubhouse as a playhouse.
"That was me 17 years ago," said Hairston. "I grew up in baseball. I've never thought about any other career than being a baseball player."
Hairston has been anointed the Diamondbacks' No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, which guarantees nothing but a few nice headlines. But his on-field performance in three minor-league seasons - 48 home runs, a .310 batting average, two All-Star seasons - leaves no question about his upside.
"In a best-case scenario," Sidewinders manager Chip Hale said Wednesday, "he could hit 30 to 40 home runs a year" in the big leagues.
Hairston is a third-generation ballplayer; his grandfather, Sammy, was the White Sox's first black ballplayer, in 1951. But neither grandpa Sammy, nor father Jerry, nor brother Jerry Jr., had the advance notice of Scott, 23, who signed a $400,000 bonus contract with the Diamondbacks three years ago.
If all goes according to the D'backs' master plan, Hairston will be ready for opening day 2005, giving them a run-producing middle infielder, one of the most coveted players in the game. The one thing Hairston lacks is, simply, at-bats. Through Wednesday, he had 1,138 minor-league plate appearances.
Here's a good comparison: before emerging as a big-league hitter, ex-Diamondbacks second baseman Junior Spivey had about 1,600 minor-league at-bats. The D'backs' latest second baseman bred via Tucson, Matt Kata, had almost 1,900 minor-league at-bats.
The benefactor of what is likely to be Hairston's final year of seasoning will be the Sidewinders; if Hairston produces as well over the next four months as he has in the first week of his Class AAA life - a .333 batting average with six extra base hits - the Sidewinders' robust 6-1 start should translate into pennant contention.
"I'm not thinking about" the Diamondbacks, Hairston said. "I'm comfortable here. I've settled in. I get to play at home. We're winning. There's nothing wrong with that."
If you are late absorbing this local-player-makes-good angle, it's understandable. Hairston didn't move to Tucson until 1998-99, his senior year in high school. The family moved from Illinois because Jerry Hairston, a career White Sox player and coach, was hired to manage Chicago's rookie league team that played summer ball in Tucson for two years. (He now manages the White Sox Appalachian League team in Bristol, Va.)
By luck of the draw, the Hairstons settled in Oro Valley, in the CDO attendance area. Talk about good fortune; the Dorados of 1998-99 included St. Louis' eventual No. 2 draft pick, Chris Duncan; last year's White Sox No. 1 draft pick, Brian Anderson; and Arizona State's All-Pac-10 pitcher Ryan Schroyer.
CDO last year placed two of its former players in the major leagues: pitcher Jason Stanford at Cleveland and outfielder Colin Porter with Houston.
"It was a good situation at CDO," said Hairston. "There's a lot of tradition there; I'm glad to be part of it."
Soon, he might be at the head of it.
Hairston carries himself like a ballplayer. If you know anything about the game, it takes about 10 seconds of Hairston-watching to compile a preliminary scouting report: He's big enough, strong enough and athletic enough. His minor-league statistics are powerful evidence he will hit enough.
His mental approach? "He's a very passionate player," said Hale. After striking out in his first two at-bats Wednesday, both on disputed called strikes, Hairston argued aggressively with umpire Lance Barksdale.
Hairston had enough presence of mind to know when enough was enough. He bit his tongue, stayed in the game, and in the bottom of the ninth, won the game for his club.
One suspects we're going to be seeing a lot more of that.
