Curt Blefary was born on Monday, July 5, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York. Blefary was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 14, 1965, with the Baltimore Orioles. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Curt Blefary baseball stats page.
"It is the time of the cuckoo in baseball and for the Baltimore Orioles that can only mean Curt Blefary, who has progressed from being called, 'Hot Dog,' to 'Flake,' to Cuckoo,' in two seasons and a piece. Who else would have 'Hot Dog,' boldly inscribed on his shower room scuffs? Who else would have to combat a dog in the outfield while scrambling after a ground ball? Who else would take 35 seconds giving it a home run trot around the bases after hitting a grand-slam against the Tigers early this year? 'Half the time,' says Manager Hank Bauer, 'I don't know what he's going to do up at the plate. Did you see that stance he's been using against left-handed pitchers? He looks like a guy sitting on a commode.' 'He's just a little different,' says Brooks Robinson." - Gross, Milton. Des Moines Register Staff Writer. They Call Blefary Cuckoo -- He has Mind of His Own. 24 May 1997. Page 3-S.
Curt BlefaryCurt 'Cuckoo' Blefary Autograph on a 1967 Topps Baseball Card (#180 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Curt BlefaryCurt Blefary Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Curt BlefaryCurt Blefary Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1965 | 22 | Orioles | 144 | 462 | 72 | 120 | 23 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 70 | 88 | 4 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 10 | .260 | .381 | .470 |
1966 | 23 | Orioles | 131 | 419 | 73 | 107 | 14 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 64 | 73 | 3 | 56 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | .255 | .371 | .468 |
1967 | 24 | Orioles | 155 | 554 | 69 | 134 | 19 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 81 | 73 | 11 | 94 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 5 | .242 | .337 | .413 |
1968 | 25 | Orioles | 137 | 451 | 50 | 90 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 39 | 65 | 11 | 66 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | .200 | .301 | .322 |
1969 | 26 | Astros | 155 | 542 | 66 | 137 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 67 | 77 | 10 | 79 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | .253 | .347 | .393 |
1970 | 27 | Yankees | 99 | 269 | 34 | 57 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 37 | 43 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | .212 | .324 | .335 |
1971 | 28 | Yankees | 21 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .194 | .256 | .306 |
1971 | 28 | Athletics | 50 | 101 | 15 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .218 | .325 | .386 |
1972 | 29 | Athletics | 8 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .455 | .417 | .636 |
1972 | 29 | Padres | 74 | 102 | 10 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .196 | .320 | .314 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
8 Years | 974 | 2,947 | 394 | 699 | 104 | 20 | 112 | 3 | 382 | 456 | 47 | 444 | 33 | 25 | 29 | 42 | .237 | .342 | .400 |
Curt BlefaryCurt Blefary Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1965 Orioles | LF | 63 | 62 | 1,583 | 108 | 1.7 | 107 | 103 | 4 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 1.83 |
1965 Orioles | RF | 73 | 69 | 1,825 | 136 | 1.9 | 132 | 126 | 6 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 1.95 |
1966 Orioles | 1B | 20 | 11 | 397 | 128 | 6.4 | 127 | 115 | 12 | 1 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 8.64 |
1966 Orioles | LF | 109 | 104 | 2,543 | 167 | 1.5 | 163 | 157 | 6 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 1.73 |
1967 Orioles | 1B | 52 | 48 | 1,326 | 468 | 9.0 | 463 | 413 | 50 | 5 | 34 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.43 |
1967 Orioles | LF | 86 | 84 | 2,219 | 161 | 1.9 | 155 | 143 | 12 | 6 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 1.89 |
1967 Orioles | RF | 20 | 15 | 427 | 25 | 1.3 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.58 |
1968 Orioles | 1B | 12 | 7 | 226 | 83 | 6.9 | 82 | 78 | 4 | 1 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .988 | 9.80 |
1968 Orioles | C | 40 | 38 | 1,017 | 241 | 6.0 | 237 | 215 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 19 | .983 | 6.29 |
1968 Orioles | LF | 55 | 43 | 1,125 | 87 | 1.6 | 85 | 83 | 2 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.04 |
1968 Orioles | RF | 45 | 42 | 1,060 | 52 | 1.2 | 50 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 1.27 |
1969 Astros | 1B | 152 | 149 | 3,968 | 1,355 | 8.9 | 1,338 | 1,235 | 103 | 17 | 117 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .987 | 9.10 |
1969 Astros | LF | 1 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.38 |
1970 Yankees | 1B | 6 | 4 | 135 | 58 | 9.7 | 58 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 11.60 |
1970 Yankees | RF | 79 | 75 | 1,752 | 102 | 1.3 | 99 | 99 | 0 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 1.53 |
1971 Yankees | 1B | 4 | 4 | 87 | 43 | 10.8 | 43 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 13.34 |
1971 Athletics | LF | 8 | 5 | 156 | 12 | 1.5 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.08 |
1971 Yankees | RF | 6 | 5 | 111 | 7 | 1.2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .857 | 1.46 |
1971 Athletics | RF | 6 | 1 | 72 | 4 | 0.7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
1971 Athletics | 2B | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1971 Athletics | 3B | 5 | 2 | 72 | 14 | 2.8 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 4.88 |
1971 Athletics | C | 14 | 12 | 343 | 79 | 5.6 | 77 | 70 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 4 | .975 | 6.06 |
1972 Athletics | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1972 Athletics | 2B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1972 Athletics | LF | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1972 Padres | 1B | 6 | 4 | 114 | 39 | 6.5 | 38 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 9.00 |
1972 Padres | 3B | 3 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
1972 Padres | C | 12 | 7 | 213 | 55 | 4.6 | 54 | 51 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | .982 | 6.85 |
1972 Padres | RF | 3 | 3 | 75 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.36 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
LF Totals | 323 | 300 | 7,677 | 541 | 1.7 | 528 | 503 | 25 | 13 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 1.86 | |
1B Totals | 253 | 227 | 6,256 | 2,174 | 8.6 | 2,149 | 1,972 | 177 | 25 | 182 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.27 | |
RF Totals | 232 | 210 | 5,322 | 327 | 1.4 | 317 | 306 | 11 | 10 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .969 | 1.61 | |
C Totals | 66 | 57 | 1,573 | 375 | 5.7 | 368 | 336 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 35 | 26 | .981 | 6.32 | |
3B Totals | 8 | 3 | 90 | 15 | 1.9 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .933 | 4.20 | |
2B Totals | 3 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.25 | |
8 Years | 885 | 797 | 20,930 | 3,433 | 3.9 | 3,377 | 3,120 | 257 | 56 | 192 | 14 | 35 | 26 | .984 | 4.36 |
Curt BlefaryCurt Blefary Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1965 Orioles | 4 | 2 | .667 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 21.0 | 6.3 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1966 Orioles | 1 | 4 | .200 | 16 | 0 | n/a | 18.2 | 7.5 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1967 Orioles | 4 | 4 | .500 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 25.2 | 5.9 | 6.8 | - | - | - |
1968 Orioles | 6 | 3 | .667 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 30.1 | 6.8 | 11.6 | - | - | - |
1969 Astros | 8 | 7 | .533 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 45.2 | 6.9 | 8.1 | - | - | - |
1970 Yankees | 1 | 3 | .250 | 17 | 0 | n/a | 29.9 | 7.3 | 7.3 | - | - | - |
1971 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 1 | n/a | 36.0 | 7.2 | 18.0 | - | - | - |
1971 Athletics | 0 | 1 | .000 | 22 | 1 | n/a | 20.2 | 6.7 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
1972 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | - | - | - |
1972 Padres | 0 | 0 | .000 | 59 | 0 | n/a | 34.0 | 5.7 | 11.3 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
8 Years | 24 | 24 | .500 | 163 | 2 | n/a | 26.3 | 6.6 | 7.7 | - | - | - |
Curt BlefaryCurt Blefary Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1965 Baltimore Orioles | 3 | $15,000.00 | - | - |
1966 Baltimore Orioles | 3 | $18,000.00 | - | Stats |
1967 Baltimore Orioles | 3 | $21,000.00 | - | - |
1968 Baltimore Orioles | 3 | $26,000.00 | - | - |
1969 Houston Astros | 13 | $32,000.00 | - | - |
1970 New York Yankees | 13 | $35,000.00 | - | - |
1971 New York Yankees | 13 | $35,000.00 | - | - |
1971 Oakland Athletics | 39 | " " | - | - |
1972 Oakland Athletics | 3 | $35,000.00 | - | - |
1972 San Diego Padres | 3 | " " | - | - |
Curt Blefary Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Curtis Leroy Blefary was a Major League Baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1968), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (1970-1971), Oakland Athletics (1971-1972), and San Diego Padres (1972). Did you know that Curt, his nickname, won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1965? Too easy? Did you know that Clank, another nickname, is the only first baseman in Major League history to participate in seven double plays in a nine-inning game? [Double Play Records for First Basemen]
Curt Blefary Rookie Card | 1965 Topps Baseball Card (#49 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
The 1969 San Francisco Giants set the team specific / still standing Major League record for Most Double Plays Grounded into during a 9-inning Game on May 4, 1969, when they became the first, and only, team to ground into seven double plays. Curt Blefary, who was playing first base that historic day, was on the receiving end of all seven fielding plays, which were scored as follows:
1st inning: Menke-Morgan-Blefary. Hart grounded into the double play (shortstop to second to first). [Double Play #1]
3rd inning: Rader-Morgan-Blefary. Dietz grounded into the double play (third to second to first). [Double Play #2]
4th inning: Menke-Morgan-Blefary. Etheridge grounded into the double play (shortstop to second to first). [Double Play #3]
5th inning: Morgan-Blefary. Johnson grounded into the double play (second to first). [Double Play #4]
7th inning: Menke-Blefary. Marichal grounded into the double play (shortstop to first). [Double Play #5]
8th inning: Blefary-Menke. Hunt grounded into the double play (first to shortstop). [Double Play #6]
9th inning: Morgan-Menke-Blefary. Etheridge grounded into the double play (second to shortstop to first). [Double Play #7]
Curt Blefary Double Play Record | The Mexia Daily News | May 5, 1969 | Page 8
Frank Robinson nicknamed Blefary "Clank" due to the sound the ball made when it landed in his glove. The Baltimore Orioles wanted to keep Curt's bat (who was often criticized for his less than stellar defensive skills) in the lineup, so they used Blefary in left field, they used him in right field, they used him at first base, and in 1968, they even put him behind the plate to catch forty games — one of those was a no-hitter tossed by Tom Phoebus on April 27, 1968.
Oakland Athletics Ticket Stub | April 17, 1968 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
On April 17, 1968, Boog Powell hit the first Major League home run in the history of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (a second inning homer, off Lew Krausse, and it was also the first hit of any type). It was the first regular season baseball game played in The Coliseum by the just relocated Kansas City Athletics, who were now playing as the modern day Oakland Athletics. In the first inning that day, Curt Blefary went down in the Baseball Almanac history books as the first batter, and the first player ever walked. The second batter, center fielder Paul Blair, hit into a double play making Blefary-Blair the first two outs recorded by the A's.