Jose Lima, R.I.P.
Jose Lima - it's Lima Time! (Photo by Erin Skelley)
Usually we focus on music matters around here, but we just had to mark this weekend’s passing of former professional baseball pitcher Jose Lima. Lima pitched for a number of teams during his career but he had his best years with the hometown Houston Astros, winning 21 games in 1999 and earning a spot on that season’s NL All-Star team.
We remember Jose as the free spirit who made every outing “Lima Time.” Even when he was one of the Astros’ best pitchers, Jose ran with the Dome Patrol in the Astrodome, tossing out freebies and interacting with the crowd. He was also a bit of a singer – more enthusiastic than talented, naturally – and he recorded a couple albums as the lead singer of a merengue band. His TV commercials for the Mexican restaurant chain Casa Ole were classic. As a Los Angeles Dodger, Lima would hang out with fans in the stadium parking lot after each game. His shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 NLDS was classic, too. So once more, let’s make it Lima Time.
Thanks to Erin Skelley (The Fantasy Girl) for the photo of Jose Lima roaming with the Dome Patrol!
Baseball stunned by death of Jose Lima, story from Detroit Free Press
May 25, 2010 at 1:04 am
Another Astro pitcher dealt a lousy hand (see Wilson, Don and Richard, J. R.).