HEY, BUD, WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY JOSE LIMA FANS?:

Lima sings national anthem: Pitcher also performs 'God Bless America' on Thursday (Ken Gurnick, 5/13/04, MLB.com)

Over the last 50 years, the Dodger organization has had some pretty remarkable performances turned in by pitchers.

But Jose Lima did something Thursday that Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Eric Gagne never did.

He sang the national anthem and "God Bless America" before the game.

And, as he predicted, he was pretty good.

Flanked by his wife and 5-year-old son, the native Dominican filled Chavez Ravine with his renditions, in English, much to the delight of the sparse gathering before the Dodgers-Cubs game.

"I've been telling them since Spring Training that I can do it, said Lima, the consummate entertainer who moonlights during the winter as lead singer of Banda Mambo.

"It is special for me, to have my family here with me. And it's special back in the Dominican. Manny Mota said the president of the country will be listening."

It's been a year of accomplishments for the effervescent Lima, who first had to make the club in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Then there was Thursday's performance. And he has another goal he hopes to reach later this year.

"I'm going to apply for citizenship," Lima said. "I love this country. 'God Bless America' is one of my favorite songs."

We're suckers for stories like this anyway, but what makes it especially amusing is that Major League Baseball has cropped the original photo at their site, presumably because Mrs. Lima was fueling an unusually high number of visits, for obvious reasons.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 18, 2004 12:41 PM