Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher and the current manager of the Connecticut 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. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks.\n', '

Laird first attended Rancho Alamitos High School, and then later graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. He was chosen by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 1998 draft, but held out for more money.[citation needed] When the A\'s declined, Laird enrolled in Cypress College and led its baseball team to the finals.[citation needed] In June 1999, Oakland and Laird negotiated a new contract. In his first minor league season, 1999, he played 60 games with the Low-A Southern Oregon Timberjacks and hit .285. He divided the 2000 season between the rookie-level Arizona League Athletics and High-A Visalia Oaks, but a broken wrist limited his playing time. Going into the 2001 season he was considered a top prospect until he tailed off to .255 with the Modesto A\'s.\n', '

Shortly before the 2002 season Oakland traded Laird to the Texas Rangers along with outfielder Ryan Ludwick, Jason Hart and Mario Ramos, for slugging first baseman Carlos Peña and southpaw relief pitcher Mike Venafro. Texas assigned Laird to its Double-A Tulsa Drillers, where his strong defensive play and improved batting average (.276) drew plaudits.\n', '

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