Dodgers release difficult (but hopeful) health update on legendary Manny Mota

The Los Angeles Dodgers released a statement Tuesday morning on social media regarding legendary player, coach and broadcaster Manny Mota, who suffered a medical emergency on Monday evening.

"Last night, Dodger legend Manny Mota suffered a stroke," the statement read. "He is in recovery, where he is responsive to commands and is resting comfortably."

Mota, 87, is one of the most beloved figures in Dodgers history. A native of the Dominican Republic, he has been part of the organization as a player, coach and/or broadcaster since 1969. He was named an MLB All-Star in 1973 and went on to win two World Series with the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988 — both as a coach — after appearing as a player in the 1974, 1977 and 1978 World Series.

Dodgers release difficult (but hopeful) health update on legendary Manny Mota

Mota is a veteran of 20 MLB seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos and Dodgers. He spent the bulk of his playing career in Los Angeles, where he became MLB's all-time leader in pinch hits in 1979. He finished his career with 149 pinch hits, a record that has since been broken twice by Mark Sweeney and Lenny Harris.

Before officially retiring as a player in 1982 at age 44, Mota served as a player-coach in his final seasons with the Dodgers. All told, he coached for the team in some capacity for 34 consecutive seasons from 1980-2013 — the longest such streak in franchise history. He retired from coaching in 2013 to become a full-time Spanish language television broadcaster for the Dodgers.

While Mota is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he has been inducted and/or recognized by several other institutions, including the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame and others. He and his wife, Margarita, who passed away in 2023, opened a youth baseball league in the Dominican Republic and founded the Manny Mota International Foundation, a non-profit organization that has raised money to build a medical clinic, baseball fields and a school in his home country.

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