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Jeff Pearlman

March 27, 2000

Just how young is Jerry Hairston Jr.? The Orioles second baseman fondly recalls scavenging through the White Sox clubhouse as a grade-schooler in the early 1980s, when his dad was a Chicago outfielder and his favorite player was...Harold Baines? "Yeah, I liked Harold even more than my dad," says Hairston of Baines, who's now his 41-year-old teammate. "But Dad was second." Dad might also wind up second in the Hairston family athletic scrap-book. While Jerry Sr. hit .258 in 14 big league seasons, 23-year-old Jerry Jr. is Baltimore's top prospect, a scrappy, dirt-loving hustler with very good hands and speed, though he still tends to swing for the fences too much. With the return of veteran Delino DeShields from injury, Hairston will serve as a utility infielder until the second base position opens up. "I wanna have a long career," says Hairston. "Even better than my father's."