Gerald Laird

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Gerald Laird**
Position	Catcher
Team	Texas Rangers
Years of Experience	4 years
Age	26
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Bats	Right
Throws	Right
College	Cypress College
2006 Salary	$332,330
Place of Birth	Westminster, California
Selection	2rd round amateur draft, 1998.
Drafted by	Oakland Athletics
Major League Debut	April 30, 2003

Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979 in Westminster, California) is a Major League Baseball player for the Texas Rangers. Laird was originally a second round draft choice of the Oakland A's in 1998, and was traded to the Rangers before the 2002 season, along with Ryan Ludwick, Jason Hart, and Mario Ramos, for first baseman Carlos Pena and pitcher Mike Venafro. Laird won the Rangers' starting catching job in spring training in 2004, but after dislocating his thumb in a home plate collision in May, 2004, ended up on the disabled list and lost his starting job to Rod Barajas. After spending most of the 2005 season in AAA, Laird took over as the backup catcher for the Rangers in 2006.