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Curtell Howard Motton
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield
Born: September 24, 1940, Darnell, LA
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, July 20, 1961
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1967-1971; Milwaukee Brewers 1972; California Angels 1972; Baltimore Orioles 1973-1974
World Series Appearances: Baltimore Orioles 1969
Died: January 21, 2010, Parkton, MD (age 69)
Curt Motton played in parts of eight seasons in the majors, almost exclusively with the Orioles, as a back-up corner outfielder and pinch-hitter. Motton was a member of the Orioles squad that won three consecutive American League pennants between 1969 and 1971, winning the World Series in 1970 in five games against the Reds. During his Orioles tenure, Motton served as an occasional back-up for Don Buford (#478) and Frank Robinson (#250) and was a frequently used right-handed bat off the bench. He saw his most action in 1968, platooning in left field with Curt Blefary (#458) and appearing in 83 games, attaining career highs in both home runs (8) and RBIs (25), but batting just .198. He'd enjoy his best season in 1969, appearing in 56 games and batting .303 with over half his appearances coming as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. In Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS, Motton connected for a game-winning, pinch-hit single to right, scoring Boog Powell (#15) for the only run of the game. The Orioles would go on to sweep the Twins in three games in that series.
Died: January 21, 2010, Parkton, MD (age 69)
Curt Motton played in parts of eight seasons in the majors, almost exclusively with the Orioles, as a back-up corner outfielder and pinch-hitter. Motton was a member of the Orioles squad that won three consecutive American League pennants between 1969 and 1971, winning the World Series in 1970 in five games against the Reds. During his Orioles tenure, Motton served as an occasional back-up for Don Buford (#478) and Frank Robinson (#250) and was a frequently used right-handed bat off the bench. He saw his most action in 1968, platooning in left field with Curt Blefary (#458) and appearing in 83 games, attaining career highs in both home runs (8) and RBIs (25), but batting just .198. He'd enjoy his best season in 1969, appearing in 56 games and batting .303 with over half his appearances coming as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner. In Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS, Motton connected for a game-winning, pinch-hit single to right, scoring Boog Powell (#15) for the only run of the game. The Orioles would go on to sweep the Twins in three games in that series.
For his career, Motton batted .213 in 316 games, with 25 home runs and 89 RBIs. He was a Giants minor league instructor between 1981 and 1985, and a coach with the Rochester Red Wings, the Orioles' top farm team, between 1986 and 1988. Motton joined manager Robinson's staff on the Orioles as their first base coach between 1989 and 1991, and remained within the Orioles' organization as a scout until the early 2000s.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 18th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar. If I stick to composing posts five times a week, and I'm already slipping off that pace a little, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!
The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is Motton's first solo Topps baseball card, as he shared a Rookie Stars card in the 1968 Topps set with pitcher Roger Nelson (#279). (His photo is flipped on his 1968 rookie card, showing the right-handed hitting Motton batting left.) His uniform #21, which he would wear during both his stints with the Orioles, is visible on the front of his jersey. It's odd to me Topps would point out on the back that Motton is the shortest player on the Orioles roster, at 5'8". For the record, his teammate Buford is listed as 5'7" by Baseball Reference.
Accuracy Index: There are a ton of bad-looking baseball cards in this set, but occasionally we get a great looking card, like this one of Motton. It lands at +5 for the non-recycled Orioles photo.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Motton's best season and only 17 of his 56 appearances were starts. He batted .286 (8 for 28) during the regular season as a pinch-hitter, with two home runs and eight RBIs. His big pinch-hit in Game 2 of the ALCS came on October 5th against reliever Ron Perranoski (#77), who had just entered the game after Twins' starter Dave Boswell (#459) had pitched 10 2/3 innings. Orioles starter Dave McNally (#340) pitched all 11 innings for the win.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #549
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1968-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 ProCards #218
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 33 in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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