#596 Manny Mota

Here may be his greatest claim to fame….From the movie Airplane:   "Now pinching for Pedro Borbourn, Mota...Manny Mota".....Oddly enough Mota and Pedro were never teammates….One of the greatest pinch hitter of all time if not one then top five…if not then he  is one of the most prolific…..20 years covering 1962 to 1982….never a true regular but in the years of 1965 to 1973 averaged about 350 At Bats per season….after that five seasons of almost exclusive pinch hitting….started in the hitting rich Giants organization….Was a Colt .45 in the off season between 1962-63 but  became a Pirate just before 1963… a part time fixture showing decent line drive hitting expertise with .297 in 1693 at bats….Offered up for expansion draft and selected by Montreal…logged in 89 at bats in Canada before a trade to LA….In Dodger blue, he made his name and fame buoyed by a .315 BA….exceptional years are 1969 and 1972 when he hit .323…was switch roles as the regular left fielder or the fourth outfielder role up until 1974….Having lost a step in the field his remaining five years he is almost exclusively a pinch hitter.