Whenever Kia Tigers ace Hyeon-Jong Yang steps on the mound, he wears a hat with a set of tributes written underneath the bill.

One of them reads “Doo Hwan," referring to his friend and former teammate Doo-Hwan Lee, who died of bone cancer at age 24. Another is “CCR," the initials of a female fan who had blood cancer and who he visited in the hospital before her death. Another reads “DJ87,” a tribute to former Kia defense coach Dong-Jae Kim, who's been fighting cerebral infarction.

Lastly, there’s “Lima Time,” a phrase familiar to many MLB fans, referring to late pitcher Jose Lima and his trademark antics. Though each of the tributes has special meaning for Yang, his connection to Lima is the most personal. Yang and Lima formed an unlikely friendship during the 2008 season, when the former MLB All-Star played for the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). It's a bond that still resonates with Yang nearly a decade later.

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When Kia acquired Lima, the team was looking to bounce back from a last-place season in 2007 (51-74-1), which was an unfamiliar territory for the franchise that has won the most Korean Series titles (10) in KBO history. Despite his evident aging, Lima undeniably had one of the best resumes among foreign players who had played in the KBO. The Korean media celebrated the acquisition. Even if Lima wasn’t the pitcher he used to be, the pressure and hype were enormous.

At the time, Yang was a 19-year-old pitcher who had just finished his rookie season. A highly-touted LHP prospect out of Gwanju Dongseong High School, Yang was the first pick of the second part of the 2007 KBO Draft. He immediately saw high-level action as a 19-year-old in 2007, going 1-2 with a 4.17 ERA in 49.2 IP for the Tigers. When the team signed Lima, the young lefty didn't give it much thought.

“I was too young, so it didn’t really occur to me to think about what the new foreign player teammates would be like,” Yang told Sporting News.

That soon changed.

“As we got to know each other in spring training and playing games," Yang said, "I learned that (Lima) is very active, fun and seemed like a player that truly enjoyed playing baseball.”

Lima was not only known for his on-field performance as a big-leaguer, but also for his off-field antics that delighted his teammates and fans. Even in Korea, when he was in the dugout or sitting in the bullpen at Mudeung Baseball Stadium, the pitcher displayed his endless enthusiasm through his sense of humor, dancing and vocal support for the team.

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Yang and the 36-year-old Lima clicked well as they got to know each other.

“He and I shared a similar mindset — playing baseball with an enjoyable outlook, regardless of the result," Yang said. "Looking at him, I felt like, 'Wow, he has a real passion and love of playing this game.'

“I was only 20 and didn’t have anyone in the team with the same age — I was just a young kid,” Yang said. “But Lima really took care of me, calling me 'son.'"

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/6d/53/joselima-getty-ftr-070617jpg_bxktsjfnpw161s56bznvypogj.jpg?t=417786389&w=500&quality=80 Jose Lima reacts after a strikeout during his time with the Dodgers. (Getty Images)

Lima’s support meant a lot to Yang, who had a tougher second season than he expected. Pitching out of the bullpen most of the time, the young lefty struggled with his command, allowing 48 walks in 75.2 IP. He also had a 0-5 record with a 5.83 ERA — both drop-offs from his rookie season.

Amid the growing pains, Lima was always by Yang’s side.

“He figured out my personality pretty well. ... I felt self-conscious and nervous being around the older players and being the young kid of the team, and (Lima) saw that," Yang said. "He told me to enjoy and embrace the atmosphere. He felt like a friend and a father to me.”

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Meanwhile, Lima struggled as well.

He was not the same pitcher who was an All-Star with the Astros in 1999 and who shut down the powerful Cardinals lineup in the 2004 NLDS. The last time he had pitched in the majors was with the Mets in 2006 (0-4, 9.87 ERA in 4 starts) and he spent the 2007 season with the Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League and Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League.

In the KBO, foreign players are expected to contribute as one of the major keys from the beginning to the end of a season. Unfortunately for Kia and for Lima, the KBO hitters had no trouble catching up to his diminished stuff. He was sent down to the minors in mid-April after posting a 7.43 ERA and a 0-2 record in five appearances. The rumors of him being cut soon started to swirl as the team sent a scout to the United States to seek Lima’s replacement.

Lima did not perform well in the minors, either, allowing nine hits and three runs in six innings pitched. However, the Tigers decided to extend his leash by giving him a start against the Woori Heroes on May 9. Lima was determined to try new things to earn his first win. While preparing for the start, he summoned Yang and asked the young lefty for his hat so he could wear it during his next game.

“I don’t really believe in superstitions, but I felt like, 'Man, he really, really wants to get a win,' so I let him wear it,” Yang said.

It apparently worked, as Lima did get his first KBO win while donning Yang’s hat. He threw seven scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and one walk against the Heroes as the Tigers won 12-1. In the postgame interview, Lima took his hat off and said, "This is not my hat. This is number 37 (Yang)’s hat. And I said 'let me use it.'"

“I felt very thankful that he mentioned me,” Yang said.

Lima managed to win two more for the Tigers, but his performance was not enough to keep him in a Kia uniform. The Tigers, who went on to finish sixth in the league (out of eight teams), decided that they needed a rotation upgrade and cut ties with Lima on July 3. His Korean stint ended with a 3-6 record and a 4.89 ERA.

“Honestly, because he didn’t have great numbers, I suspected deep inside my head that he wouldn’t be with us for too long,” Yang said. “So I ordered a necklace that read 'Lima Time' off the internet because I wanted to give it as a gift if he really were to leave.”

Despite Yang's hunch, Lima's departure came suddenly and without fanfare.

“When I showed up to the ballpark, there was literally nothing inside Lima’s locker. It was clean empty,” Yang said. “At the time, I really resented it. After getting along together like my friend and father, he left without saying a goodbye. I felt really empty and heartbroken, but I had to put myself in his shoes as well. At the same time, it really pained me that I could not give him that necklace.”

At the time, there was no way for Yang to keep in touch with Lima. This was the pre-KakaoTalk (a popular Korean messaging application that is widely used among natives and foreigners) era.

“I never got to contact him after he left,” Yang said. “The team translator told me that he was playing at the Dominican League and showed me some footage from there. He seemed to play with the enthusiasm that we all saw from him (in Korea).”

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Lima's last season as a pro player was in 2009 as a member of the independent Edmonton Capitals. On May 23, 2010, he died of cardiac arrest at his Pasadena, Calif., home.

The suddenness of Lima’s death at age 37, combined with how beloved he was among fans and teammates, sent a shockwave around the baseball world. It was especially personal for Yang.

He had blossomed into a cornerstone starting pitcher for the Kia Tigers after a breakout 2009 season in which he went 12-5 with a 3.15 ERA and became an integral part of the Tigers’ 10th Korean Series title.

“I had become the team’s starting pitcher and wanted to show (Lima) that I was pitching better than when he was here,” Yang said. “I wanted to show him that I’ve grown this much. I’m a better pitcher now.”

Just over a week after Lima’s death, on June 2, 2010, Yang blanked the Samsung Lions in a 129-pitch effort for his first career complete-game shutout. During the postgame interview with the MBC ESPN, broadcaster Myeong-Jae Han asked Yang, “Who are you thinking about the most right now?”

Yang responded immediately: “Jose Lima."

Yang wiped something nearby his right eye and his voice started to shiver.

“He’s gone to heaven right now and he helped me a lot when he was here,” he said, trying to hold back his emotion.

“It seems that you had a lot of bond with him,” another broadcaster said.

"Yes," Yang said.

"What kind of memory do you have of him?” Han said.

Yang answered, in shaky voice: “When I felt alone as a young second-year player, Lima helped me a lot by my side and told me to have an enjoyable mindset on the mound. I learned a lot from it and it helped me to take myself to this place right now.”

“It seems that Jose (Lima), in the heavens, is happy for you watching your great outing tonight," Han said as the interview concluded.

(Courtesy of Hyeon-Jong-Yang) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/b9/d7/hyeon-jong-yang-hat-ftr-070617jpg_ek0gqngo8fh61dx3xx4agdg2f.jpg?t=417066901&w=500&quality=80 Hyeon-Jong-Yang has written tributes under the bill of his cap. (Photo courtesy of Hyeon-Jong-Yang)

Before every start, Yang takes a moment to pray to the people listed underneath the bill of his cap — Lima, Doo-Hwan Lee, and Dong-Jae Kim — to look out for him.

Today, Yang is a 29-year-old ace and one of the highest-paid pitchers in the league (earning nearly $2 million in 2017), a path far removed from a struggling 20-year-old reliever in 2008.

In 2010, he earned the mandatory military service exemption by winning the gold medal with the Korean national team at the Guangzhou Asian Games. In 2015, Yang led the league in ERA with a 2.44 mark in 184.1 IP while earning 8.14 WAR. He continued his good work in 2016, going 10-12 with a 3.68 ERA in 200.1 IP while throwing three complete games.

This season, Yang has an 11-3 record in 16 starts with a 3.96 ERA in 97.2 IP. He already has a victory against every team in the league, and the Tigers are in first place.

Yang, indeed, has grown into a pitcher of whom Lima would be proud.