Jose Lima, who played 13 seasons for five different clubs in major league baseball, died at the age of 37 on Sunday. He apparently suffered a major heart attack in his home and later passed away at Huntington Memorial Hospital.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wrote a nice piece on Lima today about what he meant to the fans and his teammates. Below is a small taste of the article.
You never forgot how he stopped that afternoon and signed an autograph for your kid.
Jose Lima didn’t just scribble his name and hurry into the dugout like the others. He struck up a conversation, asked his name, made him laugh.
Your kid was hooked on Lima Time from that moment, and so were you. He captured an entire generation that way.
As legacies go, isn’t that a wonderful one?
“I was born for this,” Lima once said.
Indeed he was. Thousands of fans surely left the ballpark vowing to return because Jose Lima made them feel special.
“I know they pay my bills,” he said. “Some people change when they make a lot of money. That’s not Jose Lima.”
Death always has a way of making you remember the good in people. Some baseball fans didn’t like Lima because he craved attention and was outlandish, but part of the reason sports are great is because they give you athletes to both cheer for and root against.
Lima finished his baseball career with a losing record (89-102) and a 5.26 ERA. But even though he won’t go down as a good pitcher, most fans that watched baseball during his career span remember Jose Lima. He had a colorful personality and he will be missed.
