Desi Relaford: Former Mets Utility Player (2001)

Desmond Lamont Relaford was born September 16, 1973, in Valdosta, Georgia. Relaford was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 1991 draft.

Relaford spent five years in the Mariners minor leagues then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Terry Mulholland. 

MLB Career: Relaford became a utility infielder for the Phillies from 1997-2000. In 1998 he played a career high 142 games hitting .245 with 5 HRs 25 doubles 9 stolen bases & 41 RBIs.

In 1999 he played in far fewer games (65) hitting just .242. The next year Relaford dropped off to .221 average after 83 games & was dealt to the San Diego Padres. In San Diego he hit just .204 getting placed on waivers. He was picked up by the New York Mets for the 2001 season and wound up having a career year.

Mets Career: Desi was another one of Bobby Valentines all around utility guys, playing at second base, third base, short stop and even got to pitch a game. 

He started out batting just .154 in his first 11 games then broke out.

Four Hit Game: On April 26th, Relaford had his first career four hit game, coming in a 12-8 loss at Milwaukee. In the 5th inning, he hit his first Mets HR coming off Willam Cunnane. He also doubled, had two singles & drove in two runs. 

Two days later he had a three-hit game in St. Louis. In the top of the 11th inning of a 5-5 tie, he singled off the Cards Mike James then stole second. He came around to score the eventual winning run on Benny Agbayani's base hit. 

Multi- HR Game: On May 8th, he had his first career multi-HR game, coming at Coors Field hitting a pair of HRs off Pedro Astacio scoring all four Mets runs in the 12-4 loss.

From May 8th to May 12th, he had four multi- hit games & raised his average up to .358. Relaford made the most of his opportunity to play, as he kept his batting average up around .300 through most of the season. 

Desi Pitches: On May 17th, in a 15-3 loss at San Diego, he made his pitching debut, finishing off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, even collecting a strike out.

On June 5th, he collected three hits, with his first three RBI game of the season, in Rick Reeds 9-0
shut out over the Phillies.

Subway Series: Relaford hit safely in all six subway series games, collecting eight hits with two multi-hit games.

From July 14th to October 7th, in his final 48 games of the year, he batted .315 with 14 doubles, 4 HRs & 19 RBIs. On August 22nd, Relaford hit a two run HR off the Rockies Shawon Chacon leading the Mets & Kevin Appier to a 2-1 win at Shea Stadium. It was his fifth HR of the season.

Four Hit Game- Multi Three RBI Game: On September 8th, Desi matched his career high four hit game, as well as his season best three RBI's as he hit his 23rd double of the season & collected three singles in a 9-7 win at Florida. Desi had nine multi- RBI games on the year.

Post 911 Games: In the first game played after the 911 attacks, Relaford collected two hits in the 4-1 win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh. 

Piazza 911 HR vs Braves: On September 21st, in the first game played back in New York after 911, Relaford was on base in the bottom of the 8th inning as a pinch runner, when Mike Piazza hit his famous HR off Steve Karsay to comeback to beat the Atlanta Braves. He was the first to greet Piazza at the plate.

Three Hit Three RBI Game: On September 27th, in a game centerfieldmaz attended in Montreal at Stade Olympique between the Mets & Expos, Relaford had three hits while driving in three runs in the Mets 12-6 win. 

 On the season he had career highs in batting (.302) with HRs (8) doubles (27) & stolen bases, leading the team with 13. He played in 120 games, posted a 364 on base & .836 OPS with five sac flies.

On the season Desi had 24 multiple hit games with two four hit games 

At second base he played 54 games, posting a .969 fielding % making six errors in 196 chances. At shortstop he played 25 games making three errors in 71 chances with a .958 fielding %. He also played 20 games at third posting a .939 fielding %.

Post Mets Career: In December he was traded to the San Francisco Giants along with Tsuyoshi Shinjo for pitcher Shawn Estes. In January 2002 he was sent to the Seattle Mariners for David Bell. 

In 2002 Desi hit .267 in Seattle with 6 HRs & 43 RBIs. He was granted free agency & signed on with the Kansas City Royals for two seasons. 

In 2003 he batted .254 with 8 HRs matching a career high 27 doubles & driving in a career best 59 runs. In 2005 he Relaford would sign as a free agent in Colorado

playing in 73 games batting .224. 

In 2006, he missed most of the season, playing just 11 games at AAA Memphis. In 2007 he started
the year at AAA Oklahoma, getting up to the big leagues with the Texas Rangers for 14 games in July.

Career Stats: In a twelve-year career, he batted .243 hitter with 714 hits 40 HRs 147 doubles 375 runs scored & 308 RBIs. 

He struck out 497 ties with 293 walks posting a .319 on base % & .666 OPS. Relaford stole 81 bases in 109 attempts.

Retirement: From 2021 to 2023 Relaford managed the Danville Otterbots of the Appalachian League.

Family: Desi & his wife Cassandra lives in Jacksonville Florida, they have two children. He opened a baseball facility & is the founder of the underground Six Hole Records. His son Jevin plays for the Seattle Mariners A-ball Peninsula Pilots.