Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota was born in 1938 in the Dominican Republic. One of eight children, "Manny", as he was called by his friends and family, grew up in humble circumstances. It was in baseball that he found his true passion. At the age of 19, Manny demonstrated his remarkable hitting abilities when he first played in the minor leagues. Through hard work and dedication, Mr. Mota was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1963 and 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.

While with the Giants, Mr. Mota had the rare opportunity to work with famed hitter Willie Mays. Mays helped Mr. 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, Mr. Mota returned to the west coast in a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Once in L.A., Mr. Mota became the number one pinch hitter and hit over .300 during the next five consecutive seasons.

In 1973, Mr. Mota was selected to the National League All-Star team after leading the league in batting average. From 1947 through 1979, Mr. 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, with an average of .357 and 15 pinch hits, Mr. Mota hit a milestone, and established his place in the record books as the greatest pinch hitter in history.

In 1981, Manny appeared in his fourth World Series, this time as a coach. Mr. Mota retired as a player from the Dodgers the following year. Mr. Mota left an illustrious career holding the all-time major league record for career pinch-hits with 150 and an overall lifetime batting average of .304. Mr. Mota once again coached the Dodgers to the World Series in 1988, making this a total of five appearances.

Thirty years after joining the Dodgers, Mr. Mota remains an active part of the coaching staff and his community. In the off-season, Mr. Mota and his wife Margarita reside in the Dominican Republic where they continue their tireless charitable work through 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.

Starting out with meager resources, including a 50 lb. cooking pot for boiling rice, the Mota family began providing meals to the needy children living in their neighborhood. Today, the foundation provides humanitarian support in both the Los Angeles and Dominican Republic areas. With donations from corporations and friends, and the devotion of an all volunteer staff, the foundation has expanded its assistance programs to include medical care, food, education as well as hope, inspiration and incentives to chart a more positive future for themselves and their communities. Additional Infomation on Mr. Mota


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