Dodgers great Manny Mota greets fans before a spring-training game against the Texas Rangers on March 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
Dodgers legend Manny Mota, who won a World Series with the organization as a player in 1981 and as a coach in ’88, suffered a stroke Monday night.
“He is in recovery, where he is responsive to commands and is resting comfortably,” the Dodgers wrote Tuesday on X.
His son, Dodgers broadcaster José Mota, told ESPN Deportes on Tuesday that his “dad never lost consciousness during the incident and is currently doing well.”
On Tuesday morning, Mota told Grandes en los Deportes that his 87-year-old father was taken to the hospital after the stroke and that he “responded quickly to treatment.” He added that his dad “is responding to commands to move his body and try to speak.”
“He’s alert and responding,” José Mota said. “Today is crucial. We’ll see the results of removing the clot. At his age, it’s difficult to predict, but we hope he can recover all his functions.”
Read more: ‘Los Angeles … is our home.’ Manny Mota, Dodgers have been nearly inseparable for 75 years
A pinch-hitting specialist, Manny Mota appeared in games over 20 MLB seasons, including the final 13 with the Dodgers. Mota, an outfielder from the Dominican Republic, was an All-Star in 1973 and retired in 1982 with a career batting average of .304 and a then-record 150 pinch-hits.
Mota remained with the team in various roles, including coaching from 1980 to 2013, the longest tenure in franchise history, and working with the Spanish-language TV broadcast team from 2013 to 2020.
In 2023, Mota was inducted into the team’s Legends of Dodger Baseball, a group that also includes Steve Garvey, Don Newcombe, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser and Dusty Baker. Ron Cey is slated to be inducted this summer.
Dodgers minority owners Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King are among those who have taken to X to express their love and support for Mota.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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