This is my entry for Nacho Grande's blogging contest. Go check it out, and when the voting begins, vote for me! (I'm a self-promoting wh*re...I'm okay with it)
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"One of these words just doesn't belong here."
But which is it? Well, his name is Jose Lima, so those two are okay. He is in an Astros uniform, so that one is okay.
But Impact???
That one is clearly out of place.
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But if you were putting out a line with this name, would you really include Jose Lima?
This card is the line's year 2000 offering, so it should reflect the 1999 season. Lima did have an outstanding '99 campaign, going 21-10 with a 3.58 ERA. Not bad! The season before was also respectable, going 16-8 with a 3.70 ERA.
But that's where the good ends and the ugly shines through.
Lima would have only two more winning seasons in his 15-year career, going 8-3 for the Royals in 2003 and 13-5 for the Dodgers in 2004.
He would lose 16 games twice in his career. The first time he did it? You guessed it: 2000, the year of this card.
So let's take a look at that 2000 season. Besides the 7-16 record, his ERA was an incredible (and not in a good way) 6.65. He gave up 152 runs on 251 hits, 48 of which left the ballpark (and never landed, I'm assuming). Those 48 home runs allowed led the league and were two short of the 50 given up by HOF'er Bert Blyleven (probably the only time you will ever hear those two names in the same sentence). He walked 68 batters but did have 124 strikeouts, but by all statistical measures, it was a terrible year.
So the word "Impact" should never be attached to Jose Lima's 2000 season. The next season wasn't any better and Lima was traded midseason to the Tigers. So, who was Lima traded for?
Dave Mlicki. Never heard of him. But then again, I'm still struggling with how Jose Lima ended up on a card labeled "Impact."
Still, that's a pretty sweet bucket of balls.
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