Joe Lis

Joe Lis
First baseman
Born: (1946-08-15)August 15, 1946 Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.
Died: October 17, 2010(2010-10-17) (aged 64) Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: September 5, 1970, for the Philadelphia Phillies
NPB: April 1, 1978, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes
Last appearance
MLB: May 8, 1977, for the Seattle Mariners
NPB: September 17, 1978, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes
MLB statistics
Batting average	.233
Home runs	32
Runs batted in	92
NPB statistics
Batting average	.206
Home runs	6
Runs batted in	30
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1970–1972) Minnesota Twins (1973–1974) Cleveland Indians (1974–1976) Seattle Mariners (1977) Kintetsu Buffaloes (1978)

Joseph Anthony Lis (August 15, 1946 – October 17, 2010), was an American professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1970–1972), Minnesota Twins (1973–1974), Cleveland Indians (1974–1976), and Seattle Mariners (1977). He also played one season for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), in 1978. During his playing days, Lis stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall, weighing 175 pounds (79 kg); 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 by the Phillies to the Twins for César Tovar on December 1, 1972. While relegated to playing mainly first base as a big leaguer, he also played left field, right field, third base, 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 and shared Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors with Rich Dauer and Mickey Klutts in 1976. 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 (RBI) (25), and games played (103), as a replacement for injured Harmon Killebrew.

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, in the 1979 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, at the age of 64, on October 17, 2010.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Joe Lis at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
• Joe Lis Archived January 25, 2021, at the Wayback Machine at Baseball Gauge
• Lis at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
• Joe Lis at The Deadball Era
• Joe Lis at Find a Grave