Dodgers legend Manny Mota recovering after stroke
SUGGESTED VIDEO: LAPD Swing-athon honors Dodger Legend Manny Mota
Law enforcement and a love of baseball! That's what brought out the community and some VIP Dodgers! It was the 2019 annual LAPD swing-athon. Baseball icon Manny Mota, a volunteer, was honored for 50 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers legend Manny Mota suffered a stroke on Monday night and is responsive and resting comfortably as he recovers, the team confirmed on social media.
What we know:
Mota, 87, experienced a stroke and is currently in recovery, responsive to commands and resting comfortably, according to the Dodgers.
Mota debuted in Major League Baseball in 1962 with the San Francisco Giants and joined the Dodgers in 1969, spending the remainder of his career in Los Angeles.
SUGGESTED: LAPD Swing-athon honors Dodger Legend Manny Mota
The backstory:
Mota is major league baseball’s No. 3 career pinch-hitter who won World Series titles with the Dodgers in 1981 and ’88.
The Dominican outfielder played parts of 13 seasons from 1969-80 and 1982 with the Dodgers.
Manny Mota was a member of the 1981 Dodgers World Series team who was honored before a game agiains the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on July 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
After retiring at 44, Mota served as a coach for the team from 1980-2013, marking the longest coaching streak in team history.
He continued working for the club as a Spanish-language TV broadcaster until 2020.
Mota's legacy includes induction into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2013.
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His son, Jose Mota, continues the family tradition as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers.
The Source: Information for this story is from a social media post by the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15, 2025. The Associated Press contributed.