Here comes the son

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, May 23, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

The latest edition of ESPN The Magazine has compiled a list it calls the Clutch Hall of Fame.

The list is comprised of famous athletes who came through when it counted the most in their sport. Hockey star Maurice "The Rocket" Richard tops the chart followed by Jesse Owens, Michael Jordan and Martina Navratilova.

Fifth on the list, ahead of legends like Jack Nicklaus, Reggie Jackson, Jerry West and Joe Montana, is one Manny Mota.

Mota, now a coach with the Dodgers, is major league baseball's all-time pinch-hit leader with 150. The magazine points out that "coming off the pine cold and finding your pitch may be the hardest thing to do in sports."

Las Vegas 51s outfielder Tony Mota is well aware of Manny Mota's accomplishments. He is the youngest of Mota's six sons.

"It makes me feel great to have such a great father with such a great background," Mota said after viewing the article for the first time before the 51s' 6-1 victory over the Tucson Sidewinders on Tuesday night at Cashman Field. "It just makes me want to get after it more. It makes me want to be there with him in L.A."

The 23-year-old switch-hitter is hitting a solid .294 with two home runs, eight doubles and 11 RBIs. He ranks second on the team with 42 hits.

"He's a young prospect that people are taking a good look at," Las Vegas manager Rick Sofield said. "Tony is an excellent young man who has come into his own as a player himself.

"It's hard to carry that Mota name," Sofield continued. "The expectations are so high in the industry. It brings a lot of attention on Tony. But Tony handles it extremely well. He's a very mature kid for all the things he's gone through. He carries that name very proudly."

"I just try and play my game the way I know how to play it," Mota said. "I can't go out and try and do what my dad did. I've got to go by what I can do and what I'm capable of doing."

Mota, who was 4 when his dad retired, said he appreciates his father's accomplisments even more now that he has battled his way up the minor league ladder.

"We usually talk a couple of times a week," he said. "Sometimes we don't talk for a couple of weeks when he's on the road. But when we do talk, it's usually not about baseball."

Drafted in the 17th round in 1995 out of Miami Springs (Fla.) High School, Mota has moved quickly through the minor league ranks. He is in his second year at triple-A after hitting .269 with six home runs and 47 RBI during an injury-plagued 2000 campaign at Albuquerque.

"I hurt my ankle and tried to play through it," Mota said. "But this year is probably the best I've ever felt and the best I've ever played."

The only way it could get better is if he should get a callup by the Dodgers.

"I'd love to be on the same team as my father," Mota said. "That would be special. That would be something that I would never forget."