Darryl Motley

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1987)

Darryl Motley was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1987 for the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves, a span of 7 seasons. In 413 career games, he hit .243 with 324 hits, 44 home runs, and 159 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .243
HR 44
RBI 159
H 324
OPS .682
PIV -973
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 196 lb
Born
1/21/1960 in Muskogee, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1981-08-10
Last Game
1987-05-17

Full name: Darryl DeWayne Motley

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Career Batting Statistics

Darryl Motley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
413 1,333 156 324 60 10 44 159 19 67 186 .243 .280 .402 .682 -973

Career AVG .243 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 6.2% below league average.

Career OBP .280 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 13.9% below league average.

Career SLG .402 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .682 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Darryl Motley — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1981 KCA AL 42 125 15 29 4 0 2 8 1 7 15 .232 .255 (-9%) .320 (-14%) .368 (-15%) .688 (-15%) -286.8
1983 KCA AL 19 68 9 16 1 2 3 11 2 2 8 .235 .260 (-10%) .324 (-19%) .389 (+13%) .714 (-1%) -52.0
1984 KCA AL 146 522 64 148 25 6 15 70 10 28 73 .284 .259 (+9%) .322 (-1%) .384 (+15%) .707 (+7%) 577.8
1985 KCA AL 123 383 45 85 20 1 17 49 6 18 57 .222 .257 (-14%) .323 (-20%) .390 (+6%) .714 (-6%) -540.3
1986 KCA AL 72 217 22 44 9 1 7 20 0 11 31 .203 .257 (-21%) .325 (-26%) .395 (-11%) .720 (-18%) -671.7
1986 ATL NL 5 10 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200 — — — — -671.7
1987 ATL NL 6 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 413 1,333 156 324 60 10 44 159 19 67 186 .243 — — — — -1,645

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Darryl Motley — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 26 2 7 0 0 1 5 2 6 .269

Playoff Batting by Year

Darryl Motley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 ALCS KCA 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 .333
1985 WS KCA 5 11 1 4 0 0 1 3 0 1 .364
1984 ALCS KCA 3 12 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 .167

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (413 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Darryl Motley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home202622651461679.235
Away211711911782880.250

Last 10 Games — Batting

Darryl Motley — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1987-05-17 ATLPITL 100000001
1987-05-16 ATLPITW 100000000
1987-05-11 ATLWSNL 100000100
1987-05-10 ATLNYNW 100000000
1987-05-09 ATLNYNW 300000000
1987-05-06 ATLWSNL 100000000
1986-10-04 ATLHOUL 302100000
1986-10-02 ATLCINL 300000010
1986-10-01 ATLCINL 400000001
1986-09-25 ATLCINL 010000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Darryl Motley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 380 332 728 18 18 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Darryl Motley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1981 KCA OF 39 36 88 3 3 1
1983 KCA OF 18 17 42 2 1 0
1984 KCA OF 138 127 301 7 5 2
1985 KCA OF 114 93 198 4 7 1
1986 KCA OF 66 55 92 2 2 1
1986 ATL OF 3 3 5 0 0 0
1987 ATL OF 2 1 2 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Darryl Motley — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Left Field 159
Center Field 7
Right Field 239
Designated Hitter 10

Salary History

Darryl Motley's recorded salaries total $623,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Motley's career ran from 1981 to 1987. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Darryl Motley — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1987 ATL NL $210,000
1986 ATL NL $257,500
1985 KCA AL $155,500
Total recorded salary (partial) $623,000

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Darryl Motley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ceddanne Rafaela
    .259 avg, 49 HR
  2. 71
    Brenton Doyle
    .235 avg, 54 HR
  3. 70
    Karim Garcia
    .241 avg, 66 HR
  4. 62
    Billy Cowan
    .236 avg, 40 HR
  5. 61
    Jake Cave
    .236 avg, 45 HR
  6. 60
    Wendell Magee
    .247 avg, 24 HR

Darryl Motley: the record in brief

The profile opens with Darryl Motley's first major league game on August 10, 1981; the last one listed came on May 17, 1987. Club by club, the record runs the Kansas City Royals (1981 to 1986) and the Atlanta Braves (1986 through 1987). Motley, born on January 21, 1960, in Muskogee, OK, USA, is listed as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 5-foot-9 and 196 pounds. On the record, Darryl Motley was born Darryl DeWayne Motley.

Motley collected 324 hits in 1,333 at bats across 413 games, good for a .243 batting average, along with 44 home runs and 159 RBI. The on-base percentage is .280 and the slugging percentage .402, for an OPS of .682. Over the seasons Motley played, league hitters batted .259; the .243 career figure is 6.2% below that. Motley's most home runs in a season came in 1985, when the total reached 17 for the Kansas City Royals. Motley collected a career-high 148 hits in 1984. 1984 brought the most runs batted in, 70. In 1984, a season of regular play, Motley hit .284 while the league hit .259.

Frequently Asked Questions about Darryl Motley

What years did Darryl Motley play?
Darryl Motley played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1987.
Was Darryl Motley a pitcher?
No. Darryl Motley was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Darryl Motley hit?
Darryl Motley hit 44 career home runs with 324 hits.
What teams did Darryl Motley play for?
Darryl Motley played for 2 teams: the Kansas City Royals (1981, 1983–1986) and the Atlanta Braves (1986–1987).
What were Darryl Motley's career stats?
In 413 games, Darryl Motley had 324 hits, 44 home runs, 159 RBI, 156 runs, and 19 stolen bases, with a .243 batting average.
How much did Darryl Motley earn in his career?
Darryl Motley's recorded salaries total $623,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Motley's career ran from 1981 to 1987. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Darryl Motley's salary?
Darryl Motley's last recorded salary was $210,000, in 1987. His highest recorded salary was $257,500, in 1986, and his lowest was $155,500, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1987.
What position did Darryl Motley play?
Darryl Motley played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Darryl Motley and how much did he weigh?
Darryl Motley was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 196 pounds.
How many home runs did Darryl Motley hit each season?
Darryl Motley's home runs by season: 2 in 1981, 3 in 1983, 15 in 1984, 17 in 1985, 7 in 1986, and 0 in 1987. His most in one season was 17, in 1985.
What was Darryl Motley's career batting average?
Darryl Motley batted .243 over his career, with 324 hits in 1,333 at bats.
How many RBI did Darryl Motley have?
Darryl Motley drove in 159 runs in his career.
Is Darryl Motley in the Hall of Fame?
No. Darryl Motley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.