A 1971 ECU graduate, Baird helped the Pirates to a Southern Conference title and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1970.
In the league championship game against George Washington, Baird struck out a Southern Conference record 20 batters.
Over the next five years, Baird led the Pirates to a pair of ECAC-South championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Baird guided the Tigers to three NCAA Regional titles, an SEC Western Division championship and an SEC Tournament championship and 10 times during Baird's Auburn tenure his teams finish the season ranked in the top 25.
Ten Auburn players earned All-America honors under Baird's tutelage while a total of 51 players were drafted off of Baird's teams, which included Gregg Olson, Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas and Tim Hudson.
In 2010 former Auburn and major league star, Frank Thomas, stated "Hal (Baird) always pushed me.
Major league pitcher Tim Hudson said, "When I got drafted, I thought that A-ball was a step down from SEC baseball.
Auburn showed improvement with a 30–22 record in his first season and, in 1986, advanced to the SEC Tournament for the first time in six years, finishing third in the league standings.
Auburn won the SEC Western Division en route to finishing with a school-best record of 50–13 and, for the first time in school history, the 1995 Tigers were the No.