NEWS RELEASE

Historic Dodgertown yesterday received a surprise visit from the great Manny Mota!

This is Manny’s first return visit to Historic Dodgertown since 2008.

“Being back at Historic Dodgertown is exciting and brings back great feelings,” Mota said. “There is a lot of history here and I cannot express how grateful I am to be here. I love Vero Beach as much as I love the entire Dodger organization and O’Malley family.”

Manny visited the fields on which he played and coached, and even took a few swings on Field #2 and in the batting cages (didn’t miss a beat!). He also toured Championship Hall, Campy’s Bullpen and the Jackie Robinson Room.

Manny played for the Dodgers from 1969 to 1980 and made his final plate appearance in 1982. He attended Spring Training at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida from his first Dodger season through 2008 when the Dodgers relocated their training camp to Arizona.

He coached from 1980 through 2013, and is currently a Spanish-language broadcaster and minor league hitting instructor, all with the Dodgers team.

Manny is famously known for his pinch-hitting prowess. His then all-time major league record for career pinch-hits (150) stood for many years.

Manny holds a lifetime batting average of .304 and compiled a .319 (106-for-332) average as a pinch-hitter and a .315 average (605-for-1,923) overall during his career with Los Angeles. He participated in five World Series with the Dodgers as a player or coach.

He and his wife Margarita reside in the Dominican Republic and run the Manny Mota International Foundation. The non-profit has raise money to build a medical clinic, baseball fields and a school in his home country.