Joe Lis Jr.

Joe Lis

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School University of South Florida

• Born November 3, 1968

Joe Lis Jr. played six years in the minor leagues, three of them at AAA, but never made it to the major leagues as his father Joe Lis had done.

Lis hit .352/~.447/.528 for South Florida in his last year of college. Drafted in the 30th round of the 1991 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, he debuted in the minors as the second baseman for the St. Catharines Blue Jays, batting .291/~.409/.432.

In 1992, Lis played well as a 2B/3B for the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes, splitting second with Felipe Crespo and third with Chris Stynes. Lis hit .300/~.394/.447 and led the team in home runs (13, tied with Chris Weinke and RBI (79). He stole 5 bases in 16 attempts. He led the team in average, tying Ricky Otero for 7th in the South Atlantic League and having the second-best SAL average by a right-handed batter (after Willie Canate).

Lis spent the winter of 1992-1993 with the Sydney Blues, hitting .264/.321/.431 as their third baseman though injuries cut his time back a bit. He only struck out 8 times in 144 AB, challenging the Australian Baseball League record held by Matthew Sheldon-Collins.

In 1993, Lis hit .290/~.372/.422 for the Knoxville Smokies, splitting second base duties with Sharnol Adriana. He was hit by 16 pitches, leading the Southern League. Lis made it to AAA in 1994 and hit .292/.344/.458 for the Syracuse Chiefs, but Toronto had Roberto Alomar at second and there was little chance of Lis's being called up.

Lis became a utility man for the Chiefs, backing up Crespo at 2B, Howard Battle at third and also seeing action at first base, shortstop and in the outfield. He hit .262/~.326/.452 with 17 home runs (5 behind team leader Carlos Delgado) and 33 doubles. He played for the American League in the AAA All-Star Game, backing up Mitch Simons at second base. He was 0 for 1 with a run scored in the AL's 9-0 rout.

In March of 1996, Toronto traded Lis to the Cleveland Indians for Scott Pose. He only hit .233/~.321/.405 in a part-time role for the Buffalo Bisons that year, wrapping up his career.

After his playing career ended, Lis coached American Legion Baseball from 1996-2001, succeeding his father as coach of the Newburgh team. Lis later started a traveling team, the Evansville WolfePack.

Sources:

• 1992-1997 Baseball Almanacs
• Flintoff & Dunn Australian Baseball Almanac
• Triple-A All-Star Game box scores
• Evansville Courier & Press