Manny Mota

Manny Mota (born Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo on February 18, 1938 in Santo Domingo Dominican Republic) was a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos and most notably the Los Angeles Dodgers, best known for his pinch hitting.

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At the age of 19, Manny demonstrated his hitting abilities when he first played in the minor leagues and was signed by the Houston Colt 45' s. He was than traded from the Colt 45's, to the Pirates, for OF Howie Goss and cash in 1963 and he quickly established himself as one of the leagues premiere hitters. In the following years with the Pirates, Mr. Mota had over a .300 hitting average before leaving to play with the San Francisco Giants.

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While with the Giants, Mota had the opportunity to play and to learn from Willie Mays and helped Mota further his hitting skills and, in 1969, Manny was the first player selected in the major league expansion draft by the Montreal Expos. Later that same year, Mota returned to the West Coast via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Once in L.A., Mota became the number one pinch hitter there and hit over .300 during the next five seasons.

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In 1973,Mota was selected to the National League All-Star team after leading the league in batting average. From 1974 through 1979, Mota was continuously called upon for late inning heroics where he averaged 10 pinch hits for 6 straight seasons. It was also this time that the Dodgers appeared in the 1974,1977 and 1978 World Series. One year later in 1979, Mota established his place in the record books by becoming the all time leader in Pinch Hits off J.R. Richard

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In 1981, Manny appeared in his fourth World Series, this time mostly as a coach but only to be activated later in the year for the stretch drive . Mota retired as a player from the Dodgers the following year. Mota left an career holding the all-time major league record for career pinch-hits with 150 since broken by John Vander Wal and Lenny Harris and an overall lifetime batting average of .304 and a .297 pinch-hitting average. His .315 batting average is the best (1,800 or more at-bats) in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Mota once again was a coach for the Dodgers to the World Series in 1988, making this a total of five World Series appearances.

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Thirty years after joining the Dodgers, Mota remains an active part of both the coaching staff and his community. In the off-season, Mota and his wife Margarita reside in the Dominican Republic in which they run the Manny Mota International Foundation. Established over 30 years ago, this humanitarian organization provides needed resources and other assistance to disadvantaged youth and their families in both the Dominican Republic and the United States.

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February 18: February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 316 days remaining (317 in leap years)....

1938: 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar)....

Santo Domingo: Santo Domingo, population 2,061,200 (2003), is the capital of the Dominican Republic. The city is located at , on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the Ne...

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