Scott Hairston One on One: Past, Present, Future

Just to have it in your head -- it's pronounced "hare-ston"... not Hair-IH-ston. For some reason, I had the tendency to say it wrong, but they clarified that for me at my request.

Okay. I remember meeting Scott formally toward the end of last season at a gathering at Aqua al 2 downtown. (One of my favorite restaurants www.aquaal2.com) He had broken his thumb (ouch!) and was not playing. I met his wife Jill there, too. Because they lived in Arizona, I figured we’d meet up with them in the spring to capture them in their Arizona environment. The winter passed with a few emails here and there, and then come February, my colleague/photographer/editor Dan Roper and I went to their home after camp one day.

They were SO nice. They even coordinated having his parents drive up from Tucson so I could interview them and see 3 generations playing ball. It was Grandpa Jerry Hairston, Daddy Scott Hairston and little guys Landon (3) and Dallas (1.5) Hairston. Landon was shy for about a minute, then got up there and swung away just like Scott – hitting homerun after homerun over the fence with his wiffle ball.

I met Scott’s mom, too. Esperanza, meaning “hope” in Spanish. She’s very sweet and loves her family and baseball. Their family is a rainbow of ethnicities and culture with a lot of love and appreciation for their journey. Sometimes you can just “feel” that with people. And I certainly did with them.

I thought it would be particularly nice to capture a father-son conversation so we took advantage of that and sat Jerry and Scott next to each other at the kitchen table to reminisce about growing up in the game at Old Comiskey Park. Later, in San Diego, we visited their rented home for a photo shoot and went to Petco to see Scott play with the boys on the field. (I love how that grass feels under my feet!) And in March, we caught up with Scott and Jerry at the field during the WBC to hear that brother-brother banter. You’ll see all of that in the show.

It’s one thing to watch Scott Hairston at the plate – with a flair for the dramatic clutch home run. Or to watch him rob an opponent of a homerun as he’s roaming the outfield, a relatively new position for him. He’s focused and passionate and a competitor no doubt.

But, then you sit down with him One on One and hear him talk about his family lineage, and you see a mellow but serious side to him. He’s from one of only three 3-generation families in baseball. His grandfather who played in the Negro Leagues was called up to the Chicago White Sox in 1951 as the first African-American to play for that team. His father grew up in the south during the Civil Rights era and made the bigs in the 70s. In describing his family tree, and any topic, really, Scott is a deep thinker. He’s thoughtful and respectful of what he says and how he says it. He has a deep respect his history and the message he sends to his children and others watching him. He believes in being true to himself.

If you don’t know a lot about the Negro Leagues, you should. Here’s a link to their site at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. www.nlbm.com It’s worth checking out. And maybe after you watch this edition of One on One, you’ll have a better appreciation of that part of the game and how important it is to understand and appreciate how much has changed. Plus, you’ll know why Scott takes his job so seriously.

Enjoy.