Former major league pitcher Jose Lima has died at the age of 37. His wife says he died of a heart attack.
Jose Lima's 1993 minor league baseball card with the London Tigers of the Double-A Eastern League.
Jose Lima began his big league career in 1994 with the Detroit Tigers. He won 89 games in a career that saw him pitch for the Tigers as well as Houston, Kansas City, the L.A. Dodgers and the New York Mets where his big league career ended in 2006. The Dominican righty was a 21 game winner with the Houston Astros in 1999 and that earned him a spot on the National League All-Star team. Lima is also known for being the winning pitcher for the Dodgers in Game 3 of the 2004 National League Division Series against St. Louis. It was the Dodgers first post-season win since the 1988 World Series clincher.
"Lima Time" in Canada came in 1993 with the London Tigers and in 2009 with the Golden League's Edmonton Capitals. I had the priviledge of watching Lima pitch twice for London during the 1993 season. He wore number five for them and he graciously signed my game program even though he was the starting pitcher that day. Even though I lost that program, I still had his baseball card pictured above. Despite finishing that season with an 8-13 record with a 4.07 ERA, Lima showed his major league potential by striking out 138 batters in 177 innings.
Condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed.
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