Dominican baseball has had multiple figures that gave it life in its present and adorned its future. Felipe Alou, Winston Llenas, Miguel Diloné, Manuel Mota, Mateo Alou, and many others who dominated for more than 20 years.
Mota is in the small group that stayed in business after leaving the field. He did it as a manager, just like Felipe. The case of Chilote Llenas is special because he went through all possible doors, reaching the presidency of Las Aguilas for about 15 years.
The course of Felipe and Manuel is very similar in Lidom, although not so much in the big leagues since Felipe was manager for 14 years, 10 with Montreal, 4 with the Giants.
Manuel has been one of the finest hitters that baseball in general has had, not only in the Dominican Republic,
In Dominican baseball, he received 223 walks and 210 strikeouts in 2,400 at-bats, and that is an indication that his ball was always in play. The more contact you make, the more chance you have of success.
In fact, Mota is the career batting average leader in Lidom with a high .333, which is not easy. He is seconded by Mateo Alou with 327, Felipe and Alonzo Perry .310 each.
The great thing about Manuel’s career is that he spent 20 years in local baseball, the first two with Escogido, who lent him to Licey in the 1960-61 native tournament. But Mota did not return to the Lions, and there he would become the Historical High School student, the number one ever.
His batting was so fine that in three consecutive tournaments he was the batting leader in 1960-61. There were no tournaments for the next two years after the execution of Tirano Trujillo, and he was the leader in 1963-64 with .379, and the next with .364.
Note the high averages of those years, and you will understand what I say. He played until 1981 and from 1982 he was manager of the Blues during two championships, both winning.
He had been player-manager in the 1970-71 tournament when Fred Harfield was fired, and the same thing happened the following tournament.
During their stay at Licey they won 6 national championships and 4 Caribbean series. And to that we must add his two tournaments as a full-time manager.
Manuel is one of the all-time greats.
The BATTING:Lidom’s collective batting has dropped this year. Licey is first with .252, and the next two, Gigantes and Aguilas, at .232.. Of course, the remaining three are very poor, especially Escogido with .209 and Toros del Este with .203.. Is pitching superior? ? While that is happening, Licey and Aguilas are still well up in the standings, and the four that complete are getting further away every day. It seems that the blue and yellow crossed 30 victories without problems… Marcell Ozuna joins the Giants this Friday, improving his offensive offer. It seems to me that Ozuna takes a particular pleasure in playing baseball because he is coming off a postseason with the Atlanta Braves. His 2022 salary was $16 million, and he will earn $18 million each of the next two years. The Giants strengthen their team, and will try to reach a final for the third championship in a row… When was the last time that happened?
FROM MLB:Bryce Harper had surgery on his left elbow and will be able to enter after the All-Star game, losing almost 4 months. . A sensitive loss for the Phillies since Harper is their main hitter.. Outfielder Hunter Renfroe was transferred to the Angels, in a 3 for 1 deal that involved Dominican pitcher Elvis Peguero… Boston signed pitcher Joely Rodríguez as a free agent..Remember Lewin Díaz, first baseman for the Stars and the Miami Marlins? He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Marlins had put him up for assignment.. Diaz, a 6-foot-4, has played part-time with Miami the past three years..
