Career
Motte graduated from Valley Central High School, Montgomery, N.Y., in 2000 where he was a catcher. He then attended Iona College (New York).
Originally a catcher in the minor leagues, he converted into a pitcher in 2006 after he broke his thumb and his batting average dropped. He soared in the minor leagues and was added to the Cardinals 40-man roster in early December 2007 to avoid the rule 5 draft as one of the Cardinals' top pitching prospects. He was called up from the minors on September 2, 2008.
Motte spent the majority of the 2008 season with the Memphis Redbirds, the St. Louis Cardinals' Triple-A farm team from the Pacific Coast League. Motte would go on to have a total of 12 appearances in 2008 with an ERA of 0.82 in the big leagues. In 11 innings of relief, Motte struck out 16 batters, allowed 3 walks, and 5 hits. Motte earned his first save on September 18 against Cincinnati in their ballpark, getting the final out in the ninth inning, with a fly ball to left field.
Motte's primary pitch is a fastball, which was clocked in the upper 90s during 2008. During the 2008–2009 off-season, he added a slider as a secondary pitch, which he continues to work on and develop.
During the 2009 spring training camp, Motte competed with Ryan Franklin and Chris Perez in an attempt to earn the role as the Cardinals' 2009 closer; Manager Tony LaRussa said there would be no closer, and that he would use a mix of relievers in the ninth inning. Motte was called on to save the first game. However, when called upon, Motte gave up four runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth inning. Pittsburgh won 6–4. After this blown save opportunity, Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa moved Motte into a middle reliever role. Since blowing the save on opening day, and despite occasional rough outings (resulting in a 4.59 ERA) Motte had recorded 14 holds. Motte became the Cardinals closer late in the 2011 season, helping his team win the Wild Card. Motte pitched in two games against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2011 NLDS, where the Cardinals won the series 3 games to 2. Motte also pitched in 3 games in the 2011 NLCS against team rival the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals won the series in 6 games. Motte was on the mound for the final out of the NLCS winning the Cardinals their 18th pennant. Motte was also on the mound when the Cardinals won the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
Read more about this topic: Jason Motte
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