Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Baird stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).

The Senators, then a two-year-old expansion team, brought Baird up for an audition during the September of his first year in pro ball, 1962, and gave him three starts.

In 221⁄3 MLB innings pitched, he allowed 25 hits, 15 bases on balls, and 18 earned runs.

Baird appeared in 148 games in minor league baseball, where he fashioned a 47–46 record and a 3.99 earned run average.

[1] Baird died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at age 34, nine days after he was shot by a woman who was charged with his murder.