When the Orioles promoted their AAA second baseman to the Majors in June of '99, many observers declared that they'd seen the future of 2nd base in young Jerry Hairston. Hairston immediately injected some youthful energy and enthusiasm into what had been a moribund team and gave fans hope that the Orioles’ much maligned minor league system might have finally produced a bonafide Major League position player. Hairston didn't exactly light up opposition pitchers with his bat, but his range and soft hands reminded many fans of the departed Robbie Alomar.

As 2000 began, the 2nd base job was Hairston's to lose. Delino DeShields, the high-salaried, veteran incumbent, was being dangled as trade bait, and was tested in the outfield for the first time in his ten year career during Spring Training. Hairston, however, was slowed during the spring by a nagging groin injury, and by the time the season began, he was out of the picture and DeShields was back playing 2nd base every day. DeShields got off to a hot start, and Jerry Hairston was back at AAA trying to get healthy and waiting for a roster spot to open up on the Orioles.

That spot was finally available when the team traded left fielder B.J. Surhoff in late July, thus opening a position in the outfield for DeShields, thusly allowing Hairston to take over at 2nd base. He hit a leadoff home run against the Kansas City Royals in his first at-bat of 2000, and subsequently showed sufficient promise to renew his hold on the position. For the season, Jerry hit .256 in 49 games with 5 HRs, 19 RBIs, and 27 runs scored. Defensively, he made 5 errors at 2nd base with 262 total chances, fielding .981 ( 5th in the AL at that position, had he qualified), with a Zone Rating of .864 (which would have led the AL by a wide margin).

These defensive stats were a continuation of his fine fielding in 1999, when Jerry had a fielding percentage of 1.000 (that's ZERO errors in 269 chances), and a ZR of .836. This season he averaged 5.45 chances per game, 6% above the league's 5.14 CPG for the position, and in '99 Hairston was at 5.55 CPG, while the league was at 5.23. Over the course of his 99 games as an Oriole 2nd baseman, then, Hairston fielded about 30 more balls than the average AL player at that position. That's an extra 49 balls (projected) over the course of a full season.

It is important to focus on Jerry Hairston's defensive abilities because at this juncture he isn't much of a hitter. His OPS of .720 would have ranked 8th among the currently weak crop of AL 2nd basemen (22nd overall in the Majors) and he only had 10 extra base hits in 180 ABs this season. At 25 years old, however, Hairston has ample opportunity to improve at the plate. Add a stronger bat to his outstanding glove work and the Orioles would have the 2nd base equivalent of the "Wizard of Oz".

TO CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY NEXT YEAR, HE MUST:

Get on base more often. Jerry only had 21 walks in 49 games last year.

Continue to work with Terry Crowley to improve his hitting.

Notes: Hairston's OPS was .847 on the road last season, only .624 at Camden Yards. Hit .308 w/runners in scoring position (.333 with the bases loaded), .241 in all other situations. Hit .297 while batting 2nd in the line-up, .213 when batting elsewhere. Hit .360 (with a .410 OBP) against the Yanks and Red Sox last season.