Gerald Lee Laird III is an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers. He graduated La Quinta High School in 1998, and played college baseball at Cypress College. He was born in Westminster, California and made his MLB debut in 2003 with the Texas Rangers. Laird first attended Rancho Alamitos High School, and then later graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. Laird was originally a second round draft choice of the Oakland Athletics in 1998, but initially held out for more money. When Oakland declined, Laird attended Cypress College, where he led... the school's baseball squad to the finals. In June 1999, Oakland and Laird negotiated a new contract. In his first minor league season, 1999, Laird played 60 games with the Low-A Southern Oregon Timberjacks, where he batted .285. Laird split the 2000 season between the Rookie-level Arizona League Athletics and High-A Visalia Oaks, but a broken wrist limited his playing time. Going in to the 2001 season he was considered a top prospect, but batted .255 with the Modesto A's.
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