One of the most fun characters this town, and indeed all of baseball, has ever had. Such a shame. Meanwhile, Barry Bonds likely lives to age 90... Sigh...
I had season tickets the year he made the All-Star game. We used to love getting there early when he was pitching so we could watch him come out and throw balls to the fans. Can't remember a pitcher doing that before or since. He truly had the whole city in his hands for a few years. RIP Lima Time
What pisses me off is almost every non-Houston station focuses on his Dodger career over his Astro career.
Damn this is sad. Jose used to play on my Brother's softball team. He would show up early sign autographs, and he always brought 3-4 coolers full of refreshments for everyone there. He was very kind towards the kids as well. He would always be out playing ball with them before the games started, and even brought little league equipment for them. I got to know him pretty well, but for some reason he couldn't say my name right. He called me Yames instead of James, lol. RIP Lima Time.....
That is pretty freaking cool. You know, he likely knew how to say your name correctly and was probably messing with you... It's amazing. The more I read articles about him, there's one constant. It's stories like this...about Jose interacting with the fans. Whether it be signing autographs before, after, and in some cases, during games...or playing softball and bringing the beer and equipment...mostly just being a good guy who knows where he came from and knows he can make people smile just by being himself. I was always a fan of the player, even in the hard times. But I have a new found respect for Jose Lima, the man. May he rest in peace.
thanks for the memories jose http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/ http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/05/game_time.php
