Lubomír Janda

Lubomír Janda

• Throws Right

• Born September 20, 1977

Biographical Information

Lubomír Janda pitched for the Czech national team. In domestic competition, he also played infield. He led the top Czech league in ERA, complete games and stolen bases in different seasons.

Janda was with the Czech entry in the 1995 European Junior Championship. He struck out 71 batters in the 1998 Extraliga, finishing second to future major leaguer Roger Deago. In 1999, he was 4-6 with a 3.11 ERA and hit .275/.356/.400 for the Arrows Ostrava. He was 9th in ERA, led in innings (75 1/3), tied for first in complete games (6), tied for 7th in wins and was second with 52 strikeouts. He allowed five hits, one walk and two runs in 4 2/3 IP for the Czech Republic in the 1999 European Championship.

The Ostrava hurler's ERA soared to 5.95 in 2000 but his record improved to 7-2. He also slugged .737, 9th in the league. He tied Leoš Kubát and Jan Drábek for second in wins (one behind Petr Pacas), was 5th with 50 Ks (between Michal Kočí and Kubát), was 4th in IP (75 2/3), tied Kočí for the most complete games (8) and tied Aleš Navrátil for 6th in RBI (35).

During 2001, the 23-year-old batted .302/.351/.736 but struggled on the mound (3-7, 8.19). He was 10th in slugging, second in IP (62), tied for second in losses, tied Jan Homolka and Aleš Keprta for first with 5 complete games and was third with 50 strikeouts (behind Jakub Vančura and Patrik Kolkus). In the 2001 European Championship, he was 0-1 with 4 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs (2 earned) in two innings.

Lubomír did not play in the Extraliga in 2002 apparently. He gave up 3 hits, two walks and four runs in two innings in the 2002 World University Championship. In 2003 (now with the Tegola Titans Praha), he was 4-0 with two saves and a 1.27 ERA and produced at a .277/.365/.429 clip. He was 4th in ERA (between Vančura and Radek Procházka), tied for fourth in saves, 8th in total bases (51), tied Pavel Budský for 5th in RBI (25), tied for 9th in walks drawn (17).

In 2004, he hit .257/.341/.286 for Tegola Praha and was 1-0 with a save and a 1.67 ERA, finishing 10th in ERA. He batted .278/.338/.397 in 2005 and posted a 6-3, 2.54 record. He led with six complete games (two more than Homolka), was 6th in wins and was 6th in innings pitched (85). From 1995-2005, he had a 32-28 record, four saves and a 5.08 ERA, fielded .909 and hit .295/.379/.483. He was 4th in that period with 333 strikeouts, behind only Vančura, Kubát and Kočí and three ahead of former minor leaguer Budský.

Janda hit .301/.429/.370 in 2006 and was 2-6 with two saves and a 3.09 ERA. He tied for first with 3 complete games, was 5th in innings pitched (81 2/3) and tied Lukáš Borecký and Jakub Hajtmar for third with 10 stolen bases. In 2007, he was dominant on the hill (4-0, 0.49) but hit only .188/.235/.250. He won the ERA crown by .01 ahead of Matthew Blackmore.

The veteran hit .364/.468/.500 in 2008 and stole 19 bases in 19 tries. He led the league in steals, two more than Budský, tied for 9th in runs (22) and would have been 6th in ERA (1-4, 2 Sv, 2.32) had he qualified. That was apparently his last season in the Extraliga.

Primary Source: Czech Baseball Federation