Joseph Anthony Lis (August 15, 1946 – October 17, 2010), was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Minnesota Twins (–),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(–), and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

(). He also played one season for the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB), in . During his playing days, Lis stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall, weighing ; he batted and threw right-handed. Born in Somerville, New Jersey and raised in nearby Manville, he moved with his family to Hillsborough Township as a pre-teen and attended Somerville High School, where he played both basketball and baseball. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 1964 by the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school, when he was 17. Lis entered the majors in 1970 with the Philadelphia Phillies, playing for them three years before joining the Minnesota Twins (1973–1974), Cleveland Indians (1974–1976), and Seattle Mariners (1977). He had been traded along with Ken Sanders and

Ken Reynolds Kenneth Lee Reynolds (born January 4, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player who had a six-year career in Major League Baseball between and . The left-handed pitcher appeared in 103 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Loui ...

by the Phillies to the Twins for

César Tovar César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–), Philadelphia Phillies (), ...

on December 1, 1972. While relegated to playing mainly first base as a big leaguer, he also played

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

, right field,

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and even caught in one game. A good power hitter in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Lis swatted at least 33 home runs in three separate MiLB seasons. He batted .306 with 30 homers and an International League-leading 103 runs batted in (RBI) with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

and shared Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors with

Rich Dauer Richard Fremont Dauer (born July 27, 1952) is an American baseball former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 10-year MLB playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1983 World Series. He was primar ...

and Mickey Klutts in 1976.McGowen, Deane. "People in Sports," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, October 6, 1976.
Retrieved November 23, 2020 Nevertheless, Lis never translated his minor league success into a full-time job in the major leagues. His most productive MLB season was 1973, with Minnesota, when he posted career-high numbers in homers (nine),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI) (25), and games played (103), as a replacement for injured

Harmon Killebrew Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...

. Lis also played in Nippon Professional Baseball, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, in 1978. He finished his baseball career with the Triple-A Champion,

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...

, in the season. Following his playing career, Lis coached youth baseball for over 30 years, including in the Newburgh American Legion from 1984 to 2002. In 2003, he became General Manager of the Evansville Wolfepack 18-year-old travel team. Lis also owned and operated the Joe Lis Baseball School since 1991, and worked at James R. Pyle Insurance Agency since 1989. Lis died from prostate cancer in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, at the age of 64, on October 17, 2010.

References

External links

Joe Lis
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Joe Lis
at Baseball Gauge
Lis
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)

at The Deadball Era * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lis, Joe 1946 births 2010 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan Bakersfield Bears players Baseball players from New Jersey Cleveland Indians players Deaths from cancer in Indiana Deaths from prostate cancer Eugene Emeralds players Evansville Triplets players Florida Instructional League Phillies players Iowa Oaks players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball first basemen Miami Marlins (FSL) players Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey People from Manville, New Jersey Somerville High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Somerville, New Jersey Philadelphia Phillies players Seattle Mariners players Tidewater Tides players Toledo Mud Hens players International League MVP award winners Burials in Indiana