COUNTDOWN TO 2000: A day-by-day recap of some of the most important sports moments of the 20th century. / SEPT. 2, 1979 : Nobody Was Better to Go to in a Pinch

In the 38 seasons the Dodgers have played at Dodger Stadium, standing ovations have never been rare.

After all, this is the house of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Piazza.

But on a sunny Sunday afternoon 20 years ago today, a 41-year-old Dominican named Manny Mota was treated to perhaps the longest “standing O” of them all.

In the eighth inning of a 6-2 win over the Cubs, Mota slapped a curveball into right field. The 27,989 on hand began standing and cheering Mota as he reached first base and the ovation grew louder as he left the field for a pinch runner.

The ovation grew even after he disappeared into the Dodger dugout. He was obliged to reappear for a wave of his cap.

The occasion was his 145th career pinch hit, tying Smoky Burgess’ record. Mota would finish his 20-year career three seasons later with 150 pinch hits, still the career record.

His timing was perfect. His 145th came in the last game of a 10-game home stand and in the stands were his wife, Margarita, and their eight children.

After his record-tying single, his 13-season Dodger pinch-hitting average was .315, .305 for his career. He’d come to the Dodgers in 1969 as a throw-in player in the Maury Wills-for-Ron Fairly trade.

Also on this date: In 1961, shortly after Ty Cobb’s death, The Sporting News reported Cobb’s estate was worth $11.78 million, most of it in Coca-Cola stock. . . . In 1962, pinch-hitter Stan Musial singled for his 3,515th hit to pass Tris Speaker on the career list, placing him second only to Cobb’s 4,191.