Curt Blefary

Who was Curt Blefary?

Curtis Le Roy Blefary was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

In an eight-season career, Blefary was a .237 hitter with 112 home runs and 382 RBI in 974 games.

In his debut year of 1965, Blefary hit .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI, winning both the American League Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards. The following season, he was a member of the Orioles team that won the 1966 World Series.

Nicknamed "Clank" by Frank Robinson, in part for his below-average fielding abilities, Blefary started his career in the outfield, tried at first base, then switched to catcher, in an effort to keep his bat in the lineup. On April 27, 1968, he caught Tom Phoebus's no-hitter against the Red Sox. Blaming his constant defensive shuffling for his offensive decline, Blefary was sent to Houston in 1969 in the deal that brought Mike Cuellar to the Orioles.

After a full season with the Astros, at the end of the 1969 season he was traded to the Yankees for fellow Brooklynite, Joe Pepitone.