Desmond Lamont "Desi" Relaford (born September 16, 1973) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

infielder and current manager of the

Danville Otterbots The Danville Otterbots are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Danville, Virginia, and play their home games at American Legion Field. History Previous Danville teams From 1993 to 2020, Danville, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and Philadelphia Phillies.

Career

Known more for his defense than his bat, his versatility was his trademark. Over the course of an 11-year major league career, he played every position in the field except first base and catcher; he pitched in one game for the

in which he recorded a perfect inning with a strikeout and threw over 90 mph. Relaford was traded twice during the 2001-2002 offseason, once with

Tsuyoshi Shinjo , also known as , is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder and current manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Born on January 28, 1972, Shinjo is the second Japanese-born position player ...

to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

for

Shawn Estes Aaron Shawn Estes (born February 18, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. High school Estes attended Douglas High School in Minden, Nevada. As a senior in 1991, he was named Gatorade's Nevada State Baseball Player of the Year and fi ...

and again to the

for David Bell. Relaford signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on February 14, 2007. He competed with

Jerry Hairston Jr. Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers ...

, Drew Meyer, and Joaquin Arias for a spot as utility infielder during spring training, but wound up starting the season in the minors. In early July, Relaford was called up to the Rangers after regular second baseman

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for ...

was placed on the disabled list after suffering a stress fracture. Relaford was released after the season, and never played professionally after that. On March 23, 2021, Relaford was named the manager for the

of the new Appalachian League.

Life beyond baseball

Relaford currently has a home in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

with his wife, Cassandra Sapphire Daley, whom he married in 2002. They have two children. Relaford is the founder of 6 Hole Records, a hip-hop record label based in Jacksonville. Relaford is a graduate of Sandalwood High School.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Relaford, Desi 1973 births Living people Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres players New York Mets players Seattle Mariners players Kansas City Royals players Colorado Rockies players Texas Rangers players African-American baseball players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Arizona League Mariners players Peninsula Pilots players Jacksonville Suns players Riverside Pilots players Port City Roosters players Tacoma Rainiers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Clearwater Phillies players Omaha Royals players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Memphis Redbirds players Oklahoma RedHawks players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Sandalwood High School alumni

Career

Life beyond baseball

Notes

Further reading

External links