Jose Lima (1972-2010)
Posted by Andy on May 23, 2010
Jose Lima has died. Needless to say, this is utterly shocking and tragically sad for his family and loved ones.
As always, I'm going to focus on some stats. I don't mean to overlook the man and his life--I just don't feel qualified to write a proper obituary.
Lima had two very good seasons, coming in 1998 and 1999 and both with the Astros. In the latter year, he won 21 games despite yielding 30 HR.
Here are the last 10 seasons in which that happened:
| Rk | Player | Year | HR | W | Age | Tm | Lg | G | CG | SHO | GF | L | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curt Schilling | 2001 | 37 | 22 | 34 | ARI | NL | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | .786 | 256.2 | 237 | 85 | 39 | 293 | 2.98 | 157 |
| 2 | Darryl Kile | 2000 | 33 | 20 | 31 | STL | NL | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .690 | 232.1 | 215 | 101 | 58 | 192 | 3.91 | 120 |
| 3 | Jose Lima | 1999 | 30 | 21 | 26 | HOU | NL | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .677 | 246.1 | 256 | 98 | 44 | 187 | 3.58 | 125 |
| 4 | Jack Morris | 1986 | 40 | 21 | 31 | DET | AL | 35 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 8 | .724 | 267.0 | 229 | 97 | 82 | 223 | 3.27 | 127 |
| 5 | Jack Morris | 1983 | 30 | 20 | 28 | DET | AL | 37 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 13 | .606 | 293.2 | 257 | 109 | 83 | 232 | 3.34 | 117 |
| 6 | Dennis Leonard | 1980 | 30 | 20 | 29 | KCR | AL | 38 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 11 | .645 | 280.1 | 271 | 118 | 80 | 155 | 3.79 | 107 |
| 7 | Phil Niekro | 1979 | 41 | 21 | 40 | ATL | NL | 44 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .512 | 342.0 | 311 | 129 | 113 | 208 | 3.39 | 120 |
| 8 | Dennis Eckersley | 1978 | 30 | 20 | 23 | BOS | AL | 35 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 8 | .714 | 268.1 | 258 | 89 | 71 | 162 | 2.99 | 139 |
| 9 | Joe Coleman | 1973 | 32 | 23 | 26 | DET | AL | 40 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 15 | .605 | 288.1 | 283 | 113 | 93 | 202 | 3.53 | 116 |
| 10 | Catfish Hunter | 1973 | 39 | 21 | 27 | OAK | AL | 36 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 5 | .808 | 256.1 | 222 | 95 | 69 | 124 | 3.34 | 107 |
It's sad that 3 of these guys have now died prematurely including Lima, Darryl Kile, and Catfish Hunter.
Lima generally allowed a lot of homers but he didn't walk many guys. That enables him to make this list of all the seasons since 1901 in which a pitcher allowed at least as many homers as walks (minimum 20 HR):
| Rk | Player | Year | HR | BB | Age | Tm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Geer | 2009 | 27 | 23 | 26 | SDP |
| 2 | Carlos Silva | 2006 | 38 | 32 | 27 | MIN |
| 3 | Jon Lieber | 2006 | 27 | 24 | 36 | PHI |
| 4 | Carlos Silva | 2005 | 25 | 9 | 26 | MIN |
| 5 | Brad Radke | 2005 | 33 | 23 | 32 | MIN |
| 6 | Jon Lieber | 2004 | 20 | 18 | 34 | NYY |
| 7 | Greg Maddux | 2004 | 35 | 33 | 38 | CHC |
| 8 | David Wells | 2004 | 23 | 20 | 41 | SDP |
| 9 | David Wells | 2003 | 24 | 20 | 40 | NYY |
| 10 | Brad Radke | 2003 | 32 | 28 | 30 | MIN |
| 11 | Rick Reed | 2002 | 32 | 26 | 37 | MIN |
| 12 | Josh Towers | 2001 | 21 | 16 | 24 | BAL |
| 13 | Rick Reed | 1998 | 30 | 29 | 33 | NYM |
| 14 | Jose Lima | 1998 | 34 | 32 | 25 | HOU |
| 15 | Brian Anderson | 1998 | 39 | 24 | 26 | ARI |
| 16 | Scott Sanderson | 1994 | 20 | 12 | 37 | CHW |
| 17 | Ken Dixon | 1987 | 31 | 27 | 26 | BAL |
| 18 | Gary Nolan | 1976 | 28 | 27 | 28 | CIN |
| 19 | Don Mossi | 1963 | 20 | 17 | 34 | DET |
| 20 | Lew Burdette | 1962 | 26 | 23 | 35 | MLN |
| 21 | Robin Roberts | 1956 | 46 | 40 | 29 | PHI |
Weird that Robin Roberts, also recently deceased, is on here.
From a stats perspective, I don't have a lot else to say about Lima. He was a very colorful guy and will be remembered for a lot more than his stats.
Still, in 1998-1999 he was a top pitcher in the game. Over that two-year period he tied for 5th in most starts, 12th in strikeouts, and 4th in innings pitched.
Lima time has officially come to an end. He will be missed.
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I was shocked to see the name Josh Geer on that list, someone I have never heard of. I figured he must have pitched a full season to allow 27 HR and wondered how I could be so ignorant. He actually pitched "only" 102 IP. How he managed to give up so many HR while pitching for San Diego is the question. B-R doesn't have component park factors and I'm too lazy to look them up, but Petco is certainly one of the hardest places to homer in the majors.
Here is the thread about Jose Lima at BTF with a few nice anecdotes about him. Sounds like he was a very friendly guy.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/jose_lima_dies_of_massive_heart_attack1/
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I was lucky enough to watch him last year pitch against my home team The Edmonton Capitals. I only went to one game that year and I didn't even know he was in the Golden Leagues at the time. He got tagged with the loss but he was such a great man to watch. He was constantly talking back to the crowd while on the mound too!
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I will always remember him and his magically 8-3 season with my Royals in 2003 leading to our first winning season in awhile, i always enjoyed Lima Time!
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Agreed Austyn. His career record may have been terrible, but for that one season, he embodied the improbability that was a winning season. RIP Jose.
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I just did a search with that Play Index of yours...his 6.99 ERA in 2005 is the fifth worst in history for a pitcher who qualified for the ERA title. The worst is a 7.71 ERA by a fellow named Les Sweetland in 1930. Lima also had the eighth worst season, a 6.65 in 2000.
May 24th, 2010 at 6:04 am
[...] [...]
May 24th, 2010 at 6:15 am
Josh Geer is at it again, he has allowed 9 HT and 8 BB in AAA so far this year. Also Johnny he allowed 16 HR in 43 IP on the road. Thats a 3.35 rate per 9 IP.
Ouch
May 24th, 2010 at 8:32 am
[...] B-R Blog did a nice job of breaking down some of the unusual stats throughout Lima’s career, including one of the few pitchers since [...]
May 24th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
RIP Jose Lima -a good personal little piece on his magical playoff win in L.A. and the meaning to fans there: http://bit.ly/93uVc3