Desi Relaford

Desmond Lamont Relaford

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 155 lb.
• High School Sandalwood High School
• Debut August 1, 1996
• Final Game July 28, 2007
• Born September 16, 1973 in Valdosta, GA USA

BR page

[edit] Biographical Information

Infielder/outfielder Desi Relaford was convinced that he could pitch in the major leagues. Despite being a mere 5'8" and scarcely 160 pounds, he had a fantastic arm. He got his chance to pitch during a blowout vs. the San Diego Padres in 2001. Moving to the mound from shortstop to pitch the 9th inning, he faced three batters and retired all of them, even striking out a batter; he even reached 91 mph on the radar gun.

In 2002, he almost got another chance. Looking like the game was getting out of hand, M's skipper Lou Piniella, not wanting to burn out his entire bullpen, decided to start getting Relaford loose in case his pitcher could not get out of the current inning. As one of the post game analysts on radio put it: it was so bad that Lou had Desi Relaford warming up in the bullpen, "and for those of you who don't know, Desi Relaford is not a pitcher." The rally was squelched, however, and Relaford never pitched in the bigs again.

[edit] Further Reading

• George Vass: "Here Are Top '97 Rookies for Each Club," Baseball Digest (March, 1997), pp. 20-33 (see p. 21)
• (AP): "Bucs' loss no day at the beach," The Observer-Reporter (Tuesday, June 16, 1998), p. C2
• Jack Orton (Staff Photographer): "Philadelphia's Desi Relaford takes out Brewers second baseman Fernando Vina, preventing a ninth-inning double play," The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Thursday, July 16, 1998), p. 3C. __ To view this captioned photo, drag the page image to the right .
• "Relaford, Phillies dump the Dodgers," The Reading Eagle (Monday, May 29, 2000), p. D3
• "BASEBALL: Both Leiter And Fehr Are Upbeat On Talks; Inside Pitch," The New York Times (Thursday, March 22, 2001)
• David Lennon: "METS NOTEBOOK / So Far, Desi's Doing It All for Mets," The New York Newsday (Saturday, March 24, 2001), p. A35
• Tyler Kepner: "BASEBALL: METS NOTEBOOK – Trachsel Eases Way Into a Rotation Spot; Relaford Winning Spot," The New York Times (Saturday, March 24, 2001), p. D5
• T. J. Quinn: "RELAFORD FITS VALENTINE'S BACKUP PLAN," The Daily News (Sunday, April 1, 2001)
• (AP): "Padres 15, Mets 3: 'Things Could've been worse if Relaford didn't have his good stuff' - Valentine," NewsLibrary.com (Friday, May 18, 2001)
• Bob Herzog: "RELAFORD FITS VALENTINE'S BACKUP PLAN," New York Newsday (Friday, May 18, 2001), p. 100
• Tyler Kepner: "BASEBALL: Trachsel Takes a Pounding and Then Gets Ripped," The New York Times (Friday, May 18, 2001)
• (AP): "Mets 9, Phillies 0: 'We've dug ourselves a hole and we need some urgency' - Relaford," NewsLibrary.com (Friday, June 1, 2001)
• T. J. Quinn: "RELAFORD IS RELISHING BIG OPPORTUNITY," The Daily News (Monday, July 2, 2001)
• T. J. Quinn: "Ventura Needs Time Off, So Desi Does the Rest," The Daily News (Sunday, July 8, 2001)
• T. J. Quinn: "METS' NOTEBOOK: PIAZZA, METS DO AS DESI DOES – LITTLE THINGS SET UP BIG BLAST," The Daily News (Monday, July 30, 2001), p. 52
• Tyler Kepner: "BASEBALL: Relaford Auditions for Starting Role as Mets End Skid," The New York Times (Sunday, August 19, 2001), p. 82
• Andrew Marchand: "FREE-AGENT DESI SHOULD FIND WORK," The New York Post (Monday, August 20, 2001), p. 59
• Tyler Kepner: "BASEBALL: METS NOTEBOOK – So Who's on Third? Not Me, Says Alfonzo," The New York Times (Monday, August 20, 2001), p. D3
• Liz Robbins: "BASEBALL: Relaford Sparkles as Appier Throws a Gem," The New York Times (Thursday, August 23, 2001), p. D3
• T. J. Quinn: "Appier Makes Rockies Crumble," The Daily News (Thursday, August 23, 2001)
• T. J. Quinn: "UMP'S CALL RAINS ON METS' PARADE: DESI STRIKEOUT CLOUDS DEFEAT," The Daily News (Tuesday, August 28, 2001)
• Tom Keegan: "DO - IT - ALL DESI TRIES HARDER," The New York Post (Friday, September 28, 2001), p. 111
• Tyler Kepner: "BASEBALL: With Justice, Mets Have More Options," The New York Times (Saturday, December 8, 2001), p. S3
• Chuck Pickard: "BIGGEST BATTING GAINERS AND LOSERS FOR 2001: Desi Relaford and Bret Boone posted the highest improvement on their batting averages while Darin Erstad suffered the worst decline," Baseball Digest (February 2002), pp. 58-59
• "TRANSACTIONS: Major League Deals, Trades, Free Agent Signings" Baseball Digest (April 2002), pp. 84-87 (see p. 87)
• "AMERICAN LEAGUE: Lilly close, but Mariners spoil shot at no-hitter, win," The Southeast Missourian (Sunday, April 28, 2002), p. 5B
• Blaine Newnham: "Relaford Lives Life Around the Horn," The Seattle Times (Thursday, May 25, 2002)
• Dick Kaegel: "Relaford's Throw Lifts Royals to 8-0," The Kansas City Star (Thursday, April 12, 2003)
• Joe Posnanski: "All gobbled up: Relaford is still special on a bad night," The Kansas City Star (Saturday, August 16, 2003)
• Kurt Caywood: "Gobbled Up - Twins Feast on KC Rookie," The Topeka Capital-Journal (Saturday, August 16, 2003)
• Bob Dutton: "Relaford Fighting Injuries," The Kansas City Star (Sunday, September 7, 2003), p C-10
• (SportsNetwork): "Relaford Undergoes Wrist Surgery," WPXI.com (Friday, October 3, 2003)
• (SportsNetwork): "Royals Activate Relaford," WFTV.com (Thursday, April 29, 2004)
• Mike Holtzclaw: "Former Pilots cherish memories: Julio Franco and Desi Relaford fondly remember their championship days," The Newport News Daily Press (Sunday, September 12, 2007), p C-10

[edit] Related Sites

• Jimmie Scott's High & Tight: The Desi Relaford Interview

• Desi Relaford's facebook page

• MLB.com:
  • "New York Mets Transactions," 04/30/2001
  • "New York Mets Transactions," 12/28/2001
  • "Royals notes: Relaford heats up," 03/14/2003 4:00 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Royals notes: Rain stalls roll;... Busy man," 04/06/2003 2:08 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Relaford relishing his new role: Veteran provides depth on young squad," 05/19/2003 1:10 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Royals notes: Relaford leads off," 05/24/2003 4:24 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Royals notes: Relaford at the top," 06/12/2003 7:44 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Royals notes: Jack of all trades – Relaford big reason for Kansas City's success in 2003," 07/09/2003 11:11 PM ET by Sandy Burgin
  • "Notes: Is KC done dealing?" 07/13/2003 8:35 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Notes: Royals signal change; Relaford rests" 08/28/2003 7:59 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "KC notes: Pitchers have surgery;... Lineup Shake Up," 09/02/2003 11:22 PM ET by Alan Eskew
  • "Notes: Last chance for rest," 09/07/2003 4:15 PM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "Relaford gets second chance: Infielder expected to be 100 percent after wrist surgery," 10/15/2003 11:48 AM ET by Robert Falkoff
  • "KC Notes: May scratched; Left-hander still feels discomfort; Relaford in," 04/29/2004 2:42 PM ET by Dick Kaegel
  • "Notes: Relaford starting over; Opening Day hamstring injury a setback for infielder," 05/04/2004 10:32 PM ET by Dick Kaegel
  • "Notes - Relaford's switch a turn-on; Shortstop's bat comes to life after number change," 09/01/2004 8:05 PM ET by Dick Kaegel
  • "Notes: Relaford to explore options; Versatile veteran's return to Royals is still a possibility," 09/27/2004 8:33 PM ET by Dick Kaegel
  • "Notes: Relaford a familiar face for KC; Infielder happy to see old Royals teammates in Interleague Play," 06/25/05 7:08 PM ET by Michael Gluskin
  • "Notes: Relaford dealing with slump; Gonzalez to see bulk of time at shortstop with Relaford battling," 07/20/05 11:02 PM ET by Thomas Harding
  • "Relaford confident he can contribute; Veteran switch-hitter trying to make sixth team in seven years," 03/07/06 6:58 PM ET by Spencer Fordin
  • "Rangers sign Relaford to Minors deal: Veteran infielder will seek spot among Hairston Jr. and others," 02/14/07 2:46 PM ET by T.R. Sullivan