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
New York Mets 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 to the
San Francisco Giants for
Shawn Estes and again to the
Seattle Mariners for
David Bell. Relaford signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on February 14, 2007. He competed with
Jerry Hairston Jr.,
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 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
Danville Otterbots of the new
Appalachian League. == Life beyond baseball ==