Hairston comes from the biggest Major League Baseball family. He is the brother of Jerry Hairston Jr., the son of Jerry Hairston Sr., the nephew of Johnny Hairston, and the grandson of Sammy Hairston, a former Negro leaguer who later became the first African American player in Chicago White Sox history. The five Hairstons who have played in the majors set a record; in addition, Sam Hairston, Jr spent a year in the minors as part of the Chicago White Sox organization; Johnny Hairston had three sons, Johnny Jr Jeff and Jason who had brief minor league careers. Two other three-generation MLB families have four members each: the Boone family (Ray, Bob, Bret and Aaron) and the Bell family (Gus, Buddy, David, and Mike). Hairston is of Mexican descent on his mother's side. He and his wife, Jill, and sons, Landon and Dallas, reside in Gilbert, Arizona.
