Minor League Career
On January 17, 1989, Stairs was signed as an international free agent by the Montreal Expos. Stairs was then assigned to low single-A Jamestown Expos where he played second and third base. He played Double-A ball in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the Harrisburg Senators where he led the league in hitting and was voted the Eastern League's 1991 Most Valuable Player. In 1992 and 1993, he moved up to Triple-A (Indianapolis and Ottawa, respectively), with only brief appearances in the majors. Over his career, Stairs has played for six other minor league teams: The Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A) in 1992, the Ottawa Lynx (Triple-A) in 1993, the New Britain Red Sox (Double-A) in 1994, the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A) in 1995, the Edmonton Trappers (Triple-A) in 1996 and a few rehab games for the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A) in 2003. His totals in the minors include a .291 batting average with 46 home runs and 237 RBI.
On June 8, 1993, Stairs's contract was purchased by the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB.
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