Daryl Kile found dead

[imgreat95]

They just announced on Fox that Daryl Kile was found dead in his hotel room this morning. No other information is available.

[Baseball Guru]

Geez, I can't beleive this...

This is truely a very, very sad day:crying2:

I am very, very shocked and saddened by this....I loved this guy as he was one of my favorites...Words can't describe how I feel at this moment...:crying2:

This is a bad week for the Cards:ohno:

[Liter22]

Terrible lose for major league baseball:crying2: He's the guy who had the 12 to 6 curve right. So they just found him:confused: where in his apt or the clubhouse. I'm listening to the story on espn news but I don't understand a darn thing their saying:crying2: Man I don't think I've ever seen Joe Garadi like that. Guess it was just his time sad to say:crying2:

[Baseball Guru]

By the way they have cancelled todays Cards/Cubs game.....

No news on this yet as it just broke.....

[imgreat95]

Associated Press


CHICAGO -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in the team hotel Saturday, a spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.

The spokesperson, who declined to give her name, did not provide information about the cause of death.

The Cardinals' game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field was called off. It will be made up sometime in August.

Joe Girardi, the Cubs' player representative, addressed the fans and told them the game was called because of a ``tragedy in the Cardinals' family.''

The death was the second in the Cardinals' organization this week.

Kile, 33, pitched the Cardinals into first place in the NL Central on Tuesday night, the same night longtime broadcaster Jack Buck died at 77 after a long illness.

Kile and his wife, Flynn, have 5-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and a son who was born last August.

Several stunned players walked out of the Cardinals' clubhouse without comment soon after the game was called without comment.

Kile had the day off and was scheduled to start the final game of the series Sunday. He was 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 14 games this season.

Shortly before the game was supposed to start at 2:20 p.m. CT, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa came out of the dugout and walked across the field to meet with Cubs general manager Andy MacPhail and Girardi. Then all the Cubs came out of the dugout and got behind Girardi.

Speaking in front of the dugout on a microphone, Girardi told the crowd there had been a "tragedy'' and asked fans to pray for the Cardinals' family organization

La Russa, who'd earlier shaken hands with Cubs manager Don Baylor, walked back across the field.

The Cubs filed back into their dugout and down the steps into the clubhouse runway and then an official announcement was made in the press box that the game was off and will be made up later.

Kile had won three of his last four starts, and had a solid work ethic.

"Once you take the ball, you've got a job to do,'' he said after his last start.

Kile, who was 16-11 with a 3.09 ERA and threw 227 1/3 innings last year, had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder during the offseason.

He pitched a no-hitter while with Houston in 1993 against the New York Mets. He was 133-119 in 11-plus major league seasons and known for an exceptional curveball.

Kile's best season was 2000, when he went 20-9 with a 3.91 ERA in his first year with St. Louis -- finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting. He also helped St. Louis advance to the NL championship series against the Mets that season.

Kile was traded to St. Louis from Colorado, along with pitchers Dave Veres and Luther Hackman on Nov. 16, 1999, for pitchers Jose Jimenez, Manny Aybar and Rick Croushore and infielder Brent Butler.

A 30th-round pick of the Astros in 1987, Kile was called up to the majors in 1991 and went 7-11. He spent his first seven major league seasons with Houston, finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting in 1997 after going 19-7 with a 2.57 ERA.

Kile signed with Colorado during the offseason and struggled in his two seasons with the Rockies. He led the league in losses with 17 in 1998 and was 21-30 with Colorado.

[Nanner]

Ohmigod.


:ohno:


Geez.

:crying2:

[pmeares17]

R.I.P daryl kile

thats so sad:ohno:

[MizeMan11]

That poor guy...He had three kids too, thats what's one of the saddest things. That is so unbelievable I mean who expects something like that to happen? What a terrible thing for not just hte Cardinals but for baseball to go through...What do you think hte cause of death was? You dont think it would be drugs or anything do you?

[GiveHyzduashot]

Wow. I am just completely, COMPLETELY devastated by this.

Like James, Kile was always one of my favorites too. He was a very good vet.

This is shocking.

MizeMan, the death was natural. Which is really shocking. I think there's more to this than what meets the eye.

God bless the Kile family and the Cardinals' organization. This, by far, has been the lousiest week for any organization in recent memory. First Buck, now Kile. Both great people, great at what they did.

My prayers are with the Kile family and friends.

[Nanner]

Good thoughts, Josh.

I just can't stop thinking about how devastated his family and friends and teammates must be.

Prayers.

[sheffield_rocks]

Originally posted by GiveHyzduashot
Wow. I am just completely, COMPLETELY devastated by this.

Like James, Kile was always one of my favorites too. He was a very good vet.

This is shocking.

MizeMan, the death was natural. Which is really shocking. I think there's more to this than what meets the eye.

God bless the Kile family and the Cardinals' organization. This, by far, has been the lousiest week for any organization in recent memory. First Buck, now Kile. Both great people, great at what they did.

My prayers are with the Kile family and friends.

There are no signs of foul play but that doesnt mean it isnt possible. COD is unknown

[sheffield_rocks]

The poor guy... they said his door was locked and when they went in they found him dead on the bed :ohno:

[RockieBill]

Rest in peace, DK. Your family will be in my prayers.

This is just mind numbing. While Mr. Buck's passing was a sad day for baseball, it was not unexpected. 33 is just too young. I never have words for these situations.

[Misha77Piazza]

Shawn told me of Kile's death via AIM this afternoon. I thought he was joking but I realized that he was serious which I immediately went to ESPN site and read everything I could. Oh my gawd, my heart goes to his widow and three small children. That's very tragic and shocking.


RIP Darryl Kile :ohno:

[GiveHyzduashot]

All signs point to a natural death. No forced entry; no marks on Kile's body. If there was foul play, there'd be blood, marks in the case of being strangled, etc.

I haven't heard what was the cause of death, but I'd be willing to bet it was an aneurism (sp?). I listened to ESPN radio and his father had one at 44 and died. My father's uncle had an aneurism in his late 30's/early 40's that caused his death. My best guess is he had an aneurism in his heart or brain. Those are the only two places that would cause Kile's death if he did have an aneurism. If that's the case (and I am purely speculating here), the hotel room is the "best" (not that there ever is) place for that. If he had an aneurism driving, who knows how many would have died or been injured from an accident. And if it happened on the field or in the dugout or clubhouse, well, that goes without words. If Kile died of an aneurism, I'm glad he did it in his sleep and not eating dinner with his brother, in the car, on the bus on the way to Wrigley, etc. That's the most peaceful road possible.

Damn, what a depressing day. Kile was a guy filled with class that, sadly, doesn't have much left anymore. Great person, great team mate, very good pitcher. Hours after hearing about this, it's still devastating.

[Special_K19]

I can't believe that happened. I come home for one day and I hear Kile died and I just found out my grampa had a stroke this evening. What a day. :(

[Misha77Piazza]

Originally posted by Special_K19
I can't believe that happened. I come home for one day and I hear Kile died and I just found out my grampa had a stroke this evening. What a day. :(

Oh, I'm sorry about your grampa! :ohno:

[Nanner]

I know what you mean. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this, and his wife and kids, and his teammates.... the people who knew him and worked with him and loved him.

We look at our sports' heroes...... guys that seem super, and invincible, and it's very shocking when something so unexpected happens. I didn't even know him, and I've been crying all afternoon. Because, I think, as invincible as we think they are, they're human and have families and people who love them, and something like this happens and you realize that human beings are affected, that he probably called his wife to say good night, and went to sleep, and that was it. You go to bed expecting to get up in the morning and continue your life and the next day there are people mourning you.

It leaves me feeling so sad.

[GiveHyzduashot]

Exactly, Nanner.

I bet Kile's brother is really taking this hard. Who knew? What would Kile's brother have done if he had the slightest idea? He was probably the last person to see Kile living. I feel bad for him especially, because it's always hard on anyone when a loved one passes away unexpectedly, and you never got to say some final words ... let alone someone who sees his brother maybe five times during baseball season.

Geesh. I need something to take my mind off of this.

[Nanner]

Josh, you're so right about his brother, and what he must be feeling. I was thinking the same thing. You know he's probably thinking of the things he should have said, but didn't, because who knew he wasn't going to see him again.

Lord. Me too. I need to find something to do, or read, or watch, or something.

SpecialK.... Sorry about your grampa. :ohno:

[imgreat95]

it seems like only yesaterday that I was searching the web for articles about Jack Buck.... Now, I am looking for articles about Darryl Kile. I hope I can find some....

[imgreat95]

By Peter Gammons
Special to ESPN.com


June 22

Darryl Kile was Rick Ankiel's throwing mate every morning, last spring when no one knew what would happen with his young teammate about whom he cared, and this spring, when we all knew. As the Cardinals stretched, Kile stretched next to Ankiel, and when they began their throwing and loosening, Kile played catch with Ankiel.

One morning, when he thought an ESPN cameraman was zeroing in on Ankiel as if he were some freak show, Kile came to me, and cleared up the misconception. "I know you care about Ank," Kile said. "I just want to make certain. He'll feel better to know that you guys haven't turned on him."


That was Darryl Kile. Oh, he might have become a great pitcher earlier in his career, but he worried about a lot of things because he was human, like you and me and most everyone smart enough to know we're not bulletproof.

"I am really lucky," he once said, "because I grew up playing with Jeff Bagwell and learned what it means to play the game right and to care about teammates. I can't express what it means to be with Bagwell and Craig Biggio and Brad Ausmus and people like that. I owe a lot to them."

Kile signed with the Rockies in 1998, and his curveball and worrisome nature were never geared for that place, but he never complained. "He never made an excuse," says Don Baylor, who was Kile's manager in Colorado in '98. "It ate at him not to perform with the contract, but all he ever blamed was himself."

When he got to the Cardinals, he became the players' pitcher. He took Matt Morris under his wing, and when the great young ace was coming back from surgery, kept him positive and focused. He tried to help youngster Chad Hutchinson when he had his control and self-confidence problems. Ankiel, meanwhile, was like his little brother.

Kile was one of those players with whom Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty or manager Tony La Russa could turn to concerning other teammates. Oh yes, he was 36-20 combined for the Cardinals in 2000 and 2001, and the only reason he struggled at the end of last season was because his shoulder hurt so bad he could barely pitch. When I asked him this spring why he didn't say anything publicly about the pain he went through last year, he replied, "I don't make excuses." He had surgery immediately after the postseason, and didn't make it public because he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

There was no way he should have been ready to open the season, but he was there, toughing it out, getting better with every start, and in his last start on Tuesday was flat-out brilliant.

Darryl Kile was a very nice man with a family he loved and a legion of people like me who respected him first, liked him second and admired his talent third. I just cannot get that one moment out of my mind -- heart, soul and mind aside Rick Ankiel, because that was the type of man that Kile was. Our hearts all bleed for his wife Flynn and their children. And forget about the pennant race, everyone in baseball should offer their support to Woody Williams and Dave Veres and the leaders of that Cardinals pitching staff who have to pull their teammates back together, because Darryl cared so much about them, this will not pass easily.

Perhaps the best way to deal with this is for every Cardinals player is to try to spend the rest of the season trying to act like Darryl Kile. If they can, hopefully they'll hoist the World Series trophy in his memory.

[imgreat95]

Tony La Russa doesn't readily show much beyond the standard managerial poses -- deep-in-thought, joy-in-triumph and flash-of-temper-when-annoyed. He is, except to confidants and people he knows well, a need-to-know-only manager.

But confronted with the challenge that comes from Darryl Kile's stunning death, he also will show the parts of the manager's job that aren't readily accessible on television or in postgame interviews. His character and sense of duty will be revealed, in small but detectable swatches, over the next several weeks.


La Russa has never been an overwhelming presence in any of his clubhouses over the years, blessed as he has been with veterans able to police the area themselves. His Mauchian obsession with preparation, both on his own part and that of his players, will not change, but he will be more visible within the clubhouse, checking moods and taking temperatures, performing more of the father-confessor role and less the distant tactician.

He will also be more available with the media, spending more time so that his players can spend less. He has always been skilled at playing the sporting press, being open and combative in alternate turns, as both his mood and the exigencies of the moment suit him. He is now the manager of a team which must grieve in public, which is often the worst grieving there is, and protecting his players from excessive prying will become less of a fetish and more of a demand in the weeks to come.

Within the team, though, he will show himself to be the iron-spined soldier, leading his troops to the objective despite their heavy hearts. Like many coaches and managers, he is well-read on the famous generals of history, and with his close kinship to Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight, he operates as such. Like Knight, he is a multi-dimensional leader, changing motivational tacks as needs dictate, but he also knows that while normalcy cannot be attained inside the Cardinals' clubhouse, it must be sought on a daily basis because there is still a division title, and perhaps more, still to be obtained.

La Russa has been a manager for more than 20 years, and there is little he hasn't seen. The death of one of his players is one of those circumstances, though, and while there is small consolation in knowing that his death seems to have been simply a cruel accident of body chemistry, there isn't enough consolation to modify the sense of loss, or the enormity of dealing with that loss on the fly.

This might be the greatest test of Tony La Russa's career, and there is nothing discernible to suggest that he won't be its equal.

[imgreat95]

Kiles' ex-teammate Dunston searches for answers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ray Ratto
Special to ESPN.com


Shawon Dunston's career against Darryl Kile was much like most others who faced the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who died Saturday at age 33 -- 25 at-bats, four hits, one homer, four RBI. Kile didn't own Dunston, but he knew what to do about him.


But in the wake of Kile's death, Dunston, now a San Francisco Giant, thought only about Kile the teammate, from the year they shared in St. Louis, two seasons ago.


"He was with me on the Cardinals (in 2000), a place with first-class fans and a first-class organization ... the nicest team I've ever been on,'' Dunston said. "He was a first-class player and person. He played in Colorado (in the pitcher-eating machine that is Coors Field), he'd give up 10 runs in a game, and he never complained, never skipped a start, never said nothin' bad. No excuses.


"He would always work with young pitchers. He helped Matt Morris become a great pitcher, he would work with Rick Ankiel (the Cardinal super-prospect whose career has been sidetracked by inexplicable bouts of wildness). He was a great guy ... it's just not fair.''


In fact, Dunston's inner outrage was such that he barely made it through Saturday's 4-2 loss to Baltimore. He didn't feel like playing -- he felt like catching the next flight to Chicago to be with his grieving ex-teammates.


"I was laying down (in the clubhouse) thinking about what I had to do for today's game when I heard,'' Dunston said in a low, disconsolate tone. "I heard it, and I just broke down. It isn't fair.''


Moments later, manager Dusty Baker came over to Dunston. "I wanted to tell him before he saw it on the TV, but it was too late,'' Baker said. "I told him if he couldn't go to let me know, but ... we talked for a few minutes. He was shocked. We all were.''


"It was real hard,'' Dunston said. "I talked to Dusty, and he said I didn't have to play, and then I talked with Jeff Kent and he said I shouldn't play ... but I had a job to do.''


So he did, like the other 49 men at Pacific Bell Park on Saturday who learned what happened when Joe Buck, who just buried his father Jack the day before, announced it on Fox just before the Cardinals-Cubs game that was postponed.


But it was hard, perhaps as hard for Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove as anyone. Hargrove, who managed in Cleveland when pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed in a boating accident in Florida during spring training of 1993, reflected painfully on the difficulty of getting his team to play its best baseball day in and day out that season.


"It's going to be a long, hard road for them,'' Hargrove said. "It's going to take a long time. I don't envy them. They'll get through this, but it will be awfully difficult. It's terrible. There aren't words to describe it.''


Yet words are all we have, for now.

[imgreat95]

Smizik: Pitcher's death will be felt in all of baseball

Sunday, June 23, 2002








A baseball clubhouse is chocked full of emotion. The very nature of athletic competition elicits a wide range of feelings. The joy of winning, the disappointment of defeat, the exhilaration of excellence and the humiliation of sustained failure are just some of the emotions found in the clubhouse.

Rarely, though, does a clubhouse come to know the grief that accompanies the death of a comrade. Baseball is filled with young men in the prime of their life. They're in the hunt for fame, fortune and sometimes immortality. They're the athletic elite. They don't die young.

But on what began as an uneventful Saturday in mid-June, the humdrum days of baseball, the awful grip of death reached into the baseball clubhouse.

Darryl Kile of the St. Louis Cardinals was found dead yesterday in his hotel room in Chicago. Only when Kile, 33, failed to arrive at the St. Louis clubhouse at Wrigley Field did teammates become concerned. Eventually, Kile's room at the Chicago Westin was entered and he was found dead in his bed. It was believed he died of natural causes.

Kile was scheduled to pitch tonight against the Cubs.

The loss to the Cardinals was stunning. "Our club is totally staggered and devastated," Manager Tony La Russa said.

But considerably less so than Kile's widow, Flynn, and his three children -- twins, 5, and a baby, 10 months.

The sadness did not escape the Pirates clubhouse, where stunned players watched in quiet as the television told the sad story.

"It's like losing a teammate," Mike Williams said. "He played for the Cardinals but he played baseball and was part of the baseball family."

Well-known active players have died in accidents with the most famous being Roberto Clemente in a 1972 plane crash. Pirates pitcher Bob Moose was killed in a car crash in 1976, California Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock in a mistaken-identity shooting in 1978 and New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson in a plane crash in 1979.

But active players dying of natural causes are rare. Ernie Bonham of the Pirates died of natural causes in August 1949, two weeks after starting a game.

A surreal scene began to unfold around 3:45 p.m. yesterday in the Pirates clubhouse. Word had spread that a member of the St. Louis Cardinals was believed dead. Some players sought answers, others remained engrossed in a card game.

About 4:15, when La Russa appeared on television, all eyes were on the many sets around the clubhouse. No card game, no talking.

Among the 25 Pirates there were no former teammates of Kile. But, as Williams suggested, in times like this Kile seemed like a teammate.

"It's hard to say anything," said Kevin Young. "In baseball, when something like this happens, it's like one of your family members, regardless of what team he's on.

"We've been playing against each other for most of my career. It hurts."

Williams said, "It brings you back to reality. It makes you take a step back. Baseball's not that important. It's tough to swallow. I didn't know him personally, but from the dugout you knew he was a competitor, you knew he was a gamer."

"I'm stunned," said Manager Lloyd McClendon, about 2 1/2 hours before the game last night against the Texas Rangers. "It's a tragedy for all of baseball. He was very competitive between the lines. We held him in the highest respect. My heart goes out to the St. Louis family and his immediate family.

"I've gone around and spoken to about half the team individually just to see how they were doing, how they were taking it. It's really an eerie feeling. The guys were upset."

First-base coach Tommy Sandt was on Jim Leyland's staff at Colorado in 1999, when Kile was going through an unhappy time. Kile won 19 games for Houston in 1997 and signed a huge contract with the Rockies the following year. He was 13-17 in 1998 and 8-13 in 1999.

"He had a rough year," Sandt remembered. "But he never made any excuses. He took the ball every five days. He never said, 'I shouldn't have come here,' or anything like that.

"There were trade rumors the whole year. He was a true pro. His teammates everywhere will say he's a great guy and a good teammate."

[imgreat95]

well guys.. I know there are more out there, but I just cant do it any more. Tonight has been such an enotional night for me. Who would have known that the death of someone whom I had never even met would hit me so dang hard??

Hope y'all enjoyed the reading. Sorry there wasn't more... :ohno: :crying2: :crying2: :crying2:

[imgreat95]

By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 23, 2002; Page D01



St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile, known for his nasty curveball and his leadership, died in his room at the team hotel in Chicago sometime between Friday night and yesterday morning, apparently from natural causes. He was 33, a husband and father of three.

The discovery of Kile's body yesterday afternoon, in his bed at the Westin Hotel in downtown Chicago, came about two hours before the Cardinals' scheduled game at Wrigley Field, which was postponed after consultation with Commissioner Bud Selig and rescheduled for August.

"Our club is just totally staggered, I mean, devastated," Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa said. "The news has devastated our club. There was no bigger leader on any ballclub, in every way."

Contacted by team officials worried that Kile had not shown up at Wrigley Field, hotel security personnel entered Kile's room on the 11th floor at about 12:15 p.m. Central Time and found his body. With no signs of forced entry or foul play, the case is being treated as a normal death investigation and not a criminal case. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

"It appears he died in his bed, in his sleep," said Michael Chasen, commanding officer of the Chicago police's Area Three Homicide squad.

Kile, 6 feet 5 and 212 pounds, had no medical condition that could explain his death and was not on any medication, according to Jim Loomis, the Cardinals' assistant team physician, who added that Kile passed a routine physical examination during spring training that included an EKG test.

Kile's father, David, died in 1993 at age 44 from a blood clot near his brain, but there was no indication Darryl Kile was predisposed to a similar condition.

On Friday night, Kile had dinner with his brother, Danny, in Chicago. Contacted yesterday by Cardinals officials, Danny Kile reported no signs of any problems with his brother.

Kile's was the second death to strike the Cardinals' organization in the last week. On Tuesday night, Kile helped the Cardinals move into first place in the National League Central Division with a victory on the same night beloved announcer Jack Buck died at 77 following a long illness.

"It's going to be a real tough mourning period for the Cardinals' organization and the citizens of St. Louis," Cardinals General Manager Walt Jocketty said. "But we all have a job to do. We have to be strong and battle through this and find a way to go on, as I'm sure Darryl would want us to do -- to compete and try to win our division."

Kile is the first active major league player to die in season since New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson crashed his small-engine plane in August 1979. Earlier this year, San Diego Padres outfielder Mike Darr was killed in a car crash during spring training.

Kile was scheduled to start tonight's nationally televised game against the Cubs. At a team meeting last night, Cardinals players unanimously voted to play the game. But the Cardinals said a final decision would not be made until today when they met with Kile's widow, Flynn, who was traveling from San Diego.

Once Kile's body was found in the room around 12:15, team and league officials moved quickly to address the situation.

Jocketty, at the stadium, was summoned back to the hotel around 12:30. At about 1:30, Jocketty called Cubs GM Andy MacPhail and informed him of what had happened. MacPhail contacted umpire crew chief Mark Hirschbeck and Selig, and a decision was made quickly to postpone the game. Hirschbeck informed Cubs Manager Don Baylor of the postponement.

"I couldn't believe it and still don't believe it," said Baylor, who managed Kile with the Colorado Rockies. Kile "was a very special player. . . . He was always a perfect teammate to all the guys who played with him."

With a sellout crowd on hand for one of baseball's most fervent rivalries, fans originally were told the game was being delayed because of undisclosed reasons, while Cardinals officials scrambled to locate Kile's wife, who was in Southern California visiting family. The Kiles have 5-year-old twins, son Kannon and daughter Sierra, and a 10-month-old son, Ryker.

Shortly after the scheduled game time, Joe Girardi, the Cubs' catcher and player representative, addressed the crowd with the rest of the Cubs, in their white game uniforms, behind him.

"Excuse me," Girardi told the crowd, fighting back tears. "I thank you for your patience. We regret to inform you because of a tragedy in the Cardinal family that the commissioner has canceled the game today."

Kile, whose curveball was considered one of the best in the game, was 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA this season for the first-place Cardinals, and had a career record of 133-119 in 11 seasons for the Houston Astros, Rockies and Cardinals. Among his career highlights were a no-hitter in 1993 for the Astros, three all-star selections -- and his stellar 2000 season with the Cardinals, when he went 20-9 with a 3.91 ERA and helped the Cardinals advance to the NL Championship Series.

Reaction to Kile's death around baseball was universal shock and sadness. Selig issued a statement saying, "My deepest sympathies go out to Darryl's family, his friends and St. Louis Cardinals. All of baseball mourns his passing."

Baltimore Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove, who was skipper of the Cleveland Indians in 1993 when two players -- Steve Olin and Tim Crews -- were killed and another injured in a boating accident during spring training, said the Cardinals have "a long road ahead of them."

"They'll get through this," Hargrove said, "but it will be very difficult."

"I'm just shocked. I don't even know if I'm here right now," said Yankees outfielder John Vander Wal, who played with Kile in Colorado. "He was just an awesome dude. If you played with him, you knew what a competitor he was, what a joker he was, and just what a great guy he was."

At San Francisco's Pac Bell Park and other stadiums, a moment of silence was observed for Kile before the game.

"I just broke down," said San Francisco Giants outfielder Shawon Dunston, a teammate of Kile's with St. Louis in 2000, who found out while watching television before the game. "It's not fair. Hopefully, he's in heaven with Jack Buck."

[pmeares17]

i cant get this off my mind either.... he never even got to say goodbye to his kids or nothing....

[Baseball Guru]

Originally posted by GiveHyzduashot
Kile was a guy filled with class that, sadly, doesn't have much left anymore. Great person, great team mate, very good pitcher. Hours after hearing about this, it's still devastating.




Very well said Josh...

Needless to say I had a tough time falling asleep last night as I was thinking that this is an athlete who for no apparent reason as of yet just dies in his sleep...Made me not want to sleep fearfull that I would never wake up and see my son again....I cant even imagine that....Almost 24 hours now have gone by and I still feel very sad about this whole thing.....
It should be pretty interesting how ESPN handles tonights game....

[Baseball Guru]

Originally posted by imgreat95
Who would have known that the death of someone whom I had never even met would hit me so dang hard??


I know exactly how you feel Shawn:crying2: :ohno:

[goreds]

I have to say, after this I am not so sure I can ever take the game as seriously as I once did. I mean man I am setting here thinking it is a matter of life and death, and then he dies and none of it really seems to matter anymore. Truely a sad week in all of sports. Not just baseball.

[imgreat95]

By David Schoenfield
ESPN.com


Darryl Kile had spent most of his life playing baseball, hanging out at the park, spitting seeds in the dugout on the days he wasn't pitching, calling his wife and kids from the hotel room while on the road.

Maybe he called them Friday night. I hope he did.

Kile probably didn't start playing baseball to become a big leaguer. Maybe like the rest of us who enjoyed the game in grade school he liked the feel of the leather around his fingers, or the sweetness of a line drive up the middle, or just adjusting your cap on a sunny day. But at some point he realized he had a special gift. He developed that devastating curveball of his, that 12-to-6 hook that buckled batters' knees, a pitch that helped him become a three-time All-Star, throw a no-hitter, win 20 games, pitch in the playoffs.

Darryl Kile was 33 years old. He won 133 games in the major leagues.

I'm the same age as Kile. Like him, I've spent a lot of days and a lot of hours with baseball -- playing it as a kid, reading books and books, going to games and, now, being lucky enough to be a baseball editor. Thirty-three years old. It strikes a little blow through my veins.

My path crossed just once with Kile. It was during a spring training game in Arizona, during his first year with the Rockies in 1998. Kile had signed with the Rockies as a free agent for some big money, coming off the best year of his career with the Astros in 1997, when he won 19 games.

The Rockies play in Denver, and the high altitude makes it difficult to pitch there, especially if you rely on throwing curveballs; they just don't break as much up there. So there was a lot of speculation about how Kile would perform with the Rockies.

On this day, the Padres roughed him up. It was midway through spring training and Kile hadn't been pitching well; in particular, he was having trouble throwing his curveball for strikes, which wasn't exactly good news for somebody who would have to pitch half his games at Coors Field.

In spring training, the starting pitcher doesn't have to wait around for the game to finish, so the media is allowed to go into the clubhouse to interview him. Since the game is still going on, the clubhouse is quiet and empty.

I remember Kile sitting in a little folding chair -- in the middle of the room instead of next to his locker. He was wearing a gray Rockies T-shirt, a packet of ice wrapped around his right shoulder, sipping from a bottle of water.

He didn't look happy. It may have been just a spring training game, but pitchers don't like to get beat at any time. Kile patiently answered questions about his curveball, how he was coming along, if he was looking forward to pitching in Coors Field.

He probably wanted to go home, maybe hit the golf course for a quick round. But he sat on that chair in his sweat-soaked shirt, talking baseball, saying he wasn't concerned yet, that he would be fine.

Darryl Kile never did find the feel on his curveball that year and led the league in losses. He was even worse the next season. But throughout his two years of struggles, you never heard Kile complaining, never heard him blame his troubles on Coors Field.

Kile was traded to St. Louis and returned to being one of baseball's top pitchers. He won 20 games in 2000 and 16 last season. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa described Kile as being "very noble and a leader on our ballclub" in an interview on Fox television.

Thirty-three years old. As La Russa said, "You can have someone smarter than me explain it, because I don't understand it."

You can never explain these things. You can't attempt to. And while I didn't know Darryl Kile, I know this: that was a beautiful gift he had.

David Schoenfield is the baseball editor at ESPN.com.

[rockin500]

It looks like he died of a hardening of arteries: 2 of his coronary arteries were blocked 80-90% which can basically cause a heart attack. I know cuz my dad had a 99% blockage of one coronary last year and suffered a heart attack from it (he survived).

[imgreat95]

PITTSBURGH -- Jerry Narron could imagine how Jason Simontacchi must've felt as he prepared to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.


The grief. The sense of loss. The same I'd-rather-be-any place-in-the-world-but-here sensation in the pit of his stomach.


Just as Simontacchi was to take the mound as the Cardinals' starter on the day after Darryl Kile died, Narron took over for the late Thurman Munson the day after the star Yankees catcher died in 1979.


Even 23 years later, Narron -- now the Texas Rangers' manager -- finds it difficult to talk about one of the most gut-wrenching moments in his eight-year playing career -- and, as it would turn out, his only season with the Yankees.


''Thurman was a leader on our club,'' Narron said before Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. ''Everybody looked up to him and everybody was close to him. It was like losing somebody in your family.''


Munson, a former AL Most Valuable Player and one of the game's biggest stars at the time, was killed on an off-day while piloting a private jet he had recently purchased.


Narron, then a 23-year-old rookie catcher, remembers where he was when he heard the news and, no doubt, the uneasiness he surely felt when he realized he would replace Munson in the Yankees' lineup the following day.


Narron had caught the five games leading up to the Aug. 2, 1979, accident as Munson, who had a succession of injuries including a sore knee, either played first base or was the designated hitter.


But Munson, in the eyes of the fans, still was the Yankees' catcher. So when the team ran onto the diamond at Yankee Stadium to play the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, Aug. 3, Narron did not immediately take the field.


Instead, during a moment of silence that stretched into eight long and increasingly loud minutes, he stood on the dugout steps, the spot he normally would occupy behind the plate left vacant in an unannounced tribute to Munson.


Narron was told the moment of silence would be brief but, as fans broke into an ovation that grew louder and louder, he recalls it felt more like 15 or 20 minutes.


As Narron talked Sunday, tears welled in his eyes, his voice grew emotional and he paused between words.


''Any time you're on a ballclub for an entire season, it's a very close-knit family and when you lose somebody in the family, it's a huge tragedy,'' Narron said. ''But as a professional, you've got to go out and do your job.''


On Aug. 1, Munson's last game with the Yankees, Narron homered, and the rookie had several multihit games earlier in the week. But on the night he will always be remembered for -- the night he replaced Munson -- Narron struck out in his only two at-bats in a 1-0 loss to Baltimore decided by John Lowenstein's homer off Luis Tiant.


''It's tough for everybody, when you lose a teammate that you're close to,'' Narron said. ''It's not easy. You just have to go on with your job and you just can't stop time.''


The Yankees, who would go on to lose the division race to Baltimore, followed the wishes of Munson's wife, Diane, by taking the field that night.


An equally emotional night for the Yankees was Aug. 6, the day they attended Munson's funeral in Canton. When they made it to Yankee Stadium in the late afternoon, Bobby Murcer did not feel like playing, but would go on to drive in four runs and hit the game-winning homer in a 5-4 victory over Baltimore.


Narron is certain the division-leading Cardinals also will overcome all the emotions and feelings swirling about them and keep playing well.


''I really believe the players the Cardinals have, with the leadership of Tony La Russa being there, these guys will get through it. But it won't be easy, there's no question about it,'' he said.


''Right now, as professionals, they're going to have to stay focused and put things in perspective and just do their jobs. It's very hard ... but it's part of life's turning and you go on.''

[imgreat95]

Associated Press


The stunning death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile brought even baseball's toughest guys to tears Saturday.


"I think we've all heard what he was like as a teammate, and it's all true,'' Colorado Rockies slugger Larry Walker said as he dabbed his eyes. "He was a great guy, was in a good mood all the time and was a professional at everything in life. It's going to be hard to deal with.''


Kile was found dead at the team hotel Saturday, Chicago police said. He was 33. The pitcher apparently died from natural causes and was found in his bed.


Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus, among Kile's best friends when he pitched for the Houston Astros from 1991-97, did not take batting practice and were not in the starting lineup against the Seattle Mariners.

Kile's Astros jersey -- No. 57 -- hung in the Houston dugout.

"It was so hard to play this game,'' Biggio said after Bagwell's pinch-hit single beat the Mariners 3-2 in 12 innings. "I lost a good friend today.''

There were moments of silence at ballparks all around the majors. Two pictures of Kile, with 1968-2002 written across the bottom of the screen, appeared on the scoreboard in Montreal.

There was another scoreboard tribute to Kile in Philadelphia and the Cardinals flag flew at half-staff at Turner Field in Atlanta.

"You don't expect a 35-, 34-year-old guy in his prime playing a professional sport to pass away,'' Braves pitcher Tom Glavine said. "We all take it for granted sometimes that whatever plans we had for tomorrow we're going to be able to fulfill them. Tomorrow may not come.''

“ Today, baseball lost a good guy. ”
— Ken Griffey Jr.

The Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse went totally silent, and stunned players sat in front of their lockers with stony faces as television sets brought the news. The team quickly called off batting practice and gave players an extra 45 minutes on their own.

"Even though he's not on the team, you can relate to what they're going through,'' Ken Griffey Jr. said. "Today, baseball lost a good guy.''

Walker, who played with Kile for two seasons in Colorado, broke down several times during a brief news conference before the Rockies' game against Tampa Bay. Colorado pitcher Mike Hampton, a teammate of Kile's in Houston, was too emotional to speak and stayed in the clubhouse.

"I couldn't believe it and I still don't believe it,'' said Cubs manager Don Baylor, who managed Kile in Colorado. "DK was a very special player. He was always the perfect teammate to all the guys who played with him.''

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Bere was scheduled to pitch against Kile and the Cardinals on Sunday night.

"It's just shock,'' Bere said. "He's 33 with three kids. I'm 31 with two kids. I can't imagine what that phone call to his wife was like. Just devastating. It's a tragedy.''

The Cardinals' game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday was called off by commissioner Bud Selig. Other games went on, but many players took the field with heavy hearts.

"Our hearts are broken,'' Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said with tears in his eyes. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Flynn Kile and her children, and Darryl's family.''

All flags were lowered at Minute Maid Park before Houston's game against Seattle. Art Howe was his first big league manager.

"Tragic, tragic news,'' said Howe, now manager of the Oakland Athletics. "Just unbelievable. He pitched for me when he was a kid. He was just a fine young man. It's hard to believe something like this could happen.''

The Milwaukee clubhouse was unusually quiet three hours before the Brewers' game against Anaheim at Miller Park. Four Brewers -- Curtis Leskanic, Jamey Wright, Mike DeJean and Lenny Harris -- had played with Kile.

Many of the Brewers quietly watched the news on television, and Leskanic inscribed the initials "DK'' on his cap.

"This is an extraordinarily sad day in our clubhouse,'' Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "There are no words to describe the emotions that run through you when told of news such as this.''

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mike Williams spoke for all players.

"It brings you back to reality. It can happen to anybody at any time. He played for the Cardinals but he was part of the baseball family,'' Williams said.

[Baseball Guru]

CHICAGO -- Some of the St. Louis Cardinals gathered in small groups, remembering Darryl Kile and trying to understand how he could be dead at just 33.

Others went off by themselves at the team hotel, preferring to work through their grief and anger on their own.

"They're all doing it in their own individual way," Brian Bartow, spokesman for the Cardinals, said Sunday. "It'll be a long grieving period. Especially coming so shortly on the heels of Jack Buck's passing.

"This was tough to take."

Kile likely died from a blocked coronary artery, the Cook County medical examiner said Sunday.

Dr. Edmund Donoghue said initial findings of an autopsy showed Kile had "80-to-90 percent" narrowing of two of the three branches of the coronary artery.

As the Cardinals mourned their friend and teammate, they also began the process of moving on a day after the pitcher's death.

The team held a 30-minute memorial service for Kile on Sunday morning at the team hotel. Several members of the St. Louis Chapter of Baseball Chapel -- including former Cardinals pitcher Rick Horton -- came to Chicago to lead the service.

Kile's wife, Flynn, spoke to the players at the end of the service, and many stayed afterward to share their memories of the veteran pitcher.

A few hours later, they were back to work, playing the Chicago Cubs in a game Kile was scheduled to start.

"It's a part of life. I understand that," pitcher Woody Williams told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Darryl was a special friend and a great father. You look at him. He's in great health. He's 33. How do you explain something like that? You really can't. But I have faith in God and believe he has a purpose for everything."

Kile was found dead in his hotel room Saturday afternoon after teammates became concerned he hadn't shown up at Wrigley Field. Hotel security forced their way into his locked room and found him in bed. There was no sign of a disturbance or foul play, police said.

"It looked like he was asleep," said Dr. Jim Loomis, the Cardinals assistant team physician.

Though there was some talk of postponing Sunday night's game out of respect for Kile, the Cardinals voted unanimously at a team meeting Saturday night to play the game in his honor. A fierce competitor, Kile spent almost 12 years in the majors without ever going on the disabled list.

But this won't be an ordinary game.

Kile's name and No. 57 were displayed on the marquee outside Wrigley Field and on the scoreboard inside the park for the entire day Sunday. The U.S. flag was at half-mast, and all music except the national anthem was canceled. There will be a moment of silence for Kile before the national anthem.

The Cubs also said there wouldn't be any public address announcements during the game except for players coming to bat and lineup changes. Ordinary pregame festivities such as honorary first pitches were canceled, as was the traditional singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

"It'll be somewhat more solemn," Bartow said.

[Tigers#1]

Holy Shit i just heard about this(i've been working). I'm sure it was already mentioned, but was yesterday/todays game canceled for this? If not it definatly should of. I'm still sort of in shock by this.

RIP :pout:

[Baseball Guru]

Yesterday's game was cancelled but they are playing tonights game...It is the ESPN Sunday night game of the week...

[GiveHyzduashot]

Day 2, still shocked. Still upset. Still emotional. Still at a loss for words (which isn't easily done). Still shocked.

More shocking is an 80-90% blocking of his coronary arteries. That is hard, very hard, to swallow. I don't believe that's why he died, honestly. I don't buy it. This isn't something that is easily hidden, it's not something you just live with and no one notices. This is something that should be picked up by the doctors at a physical. With the history of heart attacks in Kile's family, how can this go undetected? I don't understand it. Clogged arteries, man, that's something someone gets by eating a LOT of foods with a LOT of fat. This doesn't just happen, at least it isn't supposed to. This isn't supposed to happen to an athlete that's in top notch physical shape. Babe Ruth, David Wells, yeah ... but not Kile. I'm in denial this is what happened. This almost had to have caused a heart attack, and how can he not wake up from that? If the report was right, Kile was a helluva lot tougher than I ever imagined. Pitching like he did with a 80-90% blocked arteries, that's tough to do without it going unnoticed. I'm hoping the report was wrong.

[imgreat95]

Blocked arteries can come from many other things aside from eating fatty foods. It might not have anything at all to do with his physical conditioning at all. A physical in and of itself will not detect a clogged artery. It is very difficult to even detect a clogged artery.

[Liter22]

Clooged oderies!?!? That makes no sence to me :confused: You know how much bacon and greesey crap you have to eat to have 80 to 90% clooged oderies. I'm sorry if I come off at all insensitive but thats how I deal with things like this I try to lighten up with a couple of stupid jokes. This is like one of those things that you know happen but when you wake up in the morning it's like it was all a dream like Josh said day 2 and still shocked:pout: I think its nice how we have put some kinda remberance thing in our signitures:ohno:

[GiveHyzduashot]

True Shawn, but it's not like a clogged artery just comes about overnight. It's something that develops, and develops, and develops, and develops, and develops, and ...

I find it hard to believe, unless Kile was tougher than nails, that somewhere, at some point, he didn't show some abnormality. I don't think someone can just fight through this without anyone noticing and then boom, this causes his death.

[imgreat95]

I have actually had several friends and family members who have had this happen. Generally, you have no idea that anything is happening, until one day, you are either dead, or in the hospital. Blocked arteries are actually very common. it is not as common for them to cause death, but i would be willing to say that probably 75% of all americans have some degree of blockage.

[GiveHyzduashot]

Blocked arteries are common, but an 80-90% blockage is not common. Somewhere, he had to be feeling the effects of a blocked artery. And chances are, it happened in public but no one thought anything of it. Oh well, what if someone did notice something awkward.

[imgreat95]

The thing is, IF anything had shown to happen, it would have probably been masked because of how good of shape he was in physically. When you have a clogged artery, you really have no way of knowing. That is why so many people suffer from heart attacks in this country.

Believe me when I say this. An 80% blockage is really no more detectable than a 10% blockage.

[rockin500]

Someone in that good of shape might not show signs of coronary heart blockage. Why do you think they call heart disease a stealth killer? Normal people or people in less good health will notice some tiredness and problems with heavy exertion, but realistically speaking, you usually dont notice until its either too late or in stress tests. Sometimes its hereditary and sometimes its what you eat and sometimes its a combination.

Besides its the most logical explanation other than an aneurysm in why he died.

[PissedPrincess]

I'm so depressed about this I'm SICK. :crying2:

I was away all weekend, when I heard the news I was devastated.

[Nanner]

I'm still so sad about this.

And I think because he was an athlete, and something like this is hard to detect, it's not something that doctors will make an effort to find, seeing as the guy's in pretty good shape anyway. So it goes undetected, after routine physicals. His brother did say that when they went out to dinner Kile was saying his shoulder was feeling sort of sore, and he was feeling weak. May have been a warning there, but that's something that everyone feels now and then, and wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.

"Stealth Killer" is exactly right.

I pray for his family and friends.

[pmeares17]

:ohno: thats so scary it just proves life is so temporary we could all be gone tommarow so we have to do all we can and see all we can.

[Baseball Guru]

Originally posted by Nanner
His brother did say that when they went out to dinner Kile was saying his shoulder was feeling sort of sore, and he was feeling weak. May have been a warning there, but that's something that everyone feels now and then, and wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.



So hard to consider that a warning especially since he did have off-season surgery and he is a pitcher and they get weak and pain at times during the wear and tear of a season....
What really bothers me to hear and they definitely say this had no cause, is the fact that they found what they believe was marijuana in his room...I was definitely hoping NOT to hear something like that:ohno:

[imgreat95]

the one question which I have had, is what happened to guys having roomates on the road?? Where was his??

[Nanner]

I think that these days, in the majors, guys have their own rooms. I don't know if it's in the contracts, or what, but the days of having roommates on the road are gone. Except for the minors... I'm pretty sure they still do it.

James, I heard that too. And I was hoping the same thing, that nothing like that would come out. An interesting report I read said that the medical examiner said that the police reported they had found it, but then the Chicago police said there was nothing like that in the report. :confused: :confused:

I'm sure also it had nothing to do with Kile's death. Just unfortunate that it has to be part of all of this. :ohno:

[imgreat95]

maybe it is just certain players with certain teams or something. I know that i have read a lot about roomates and stuff with the Pirates. I also remember reading soimething this week about his roomate in Colorado. I cant remember who it was though.

[GiveHyzduashot]

Kile was found in his suite (I'm pretty sure I heard that), so he probably didn't share a suite with someone.

I'm guessing the minimum salary players, the rookies, etc. share rooms, but I doubt if Kile, a 10+ year vet, shares a suite.

[rockin500]

In the chicago papers they said it was something that looked like weed, they didnt say it was weed though. Even if it was weed, it obviously didnt cause his death.

[Liter22]

I found this on espn.com it says Kile was complaining about problems in his I thinkl it said left shoulder (http://msn.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0623/1398143.html)

[Baseball Guru]

Darryl Kile's heart stood out
By LISA OLSON
New York Daily News

There is a men's clothing store in Montreal, where big league players purchase their fancy silk jackets and expensive ties. Everything's tailor-made, top of the line. Darryl Kile was a frequent customer.

He spent so much money there, tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes in just one trip. Not that you'd know it: Kile felt silly wearing a $500 pair of jeans. He hated calling attention to himself, so when his teammates would wonder where all those fine duds were going, Kile would just shrug and change the subject.

It was no surprise that whatever team Kile happened to be playing for at the time - Houston, Colorado, St. Louis - the clubhouse kids were always the best dressed. He'd buy them their first suits, their first pair of leather shoes. Kile's curveball was mesmerizing, as pretty as a crashing wave, but it was the size of his heart that really stood out.

Kile's death on Saturday at the age of 33 shook everyone, and not just because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. When police went to his Chicago hotel room after Kile's St. Louis teammates noticed the pitcher wasn't at the ballpark, a Do Not Disturb sign was on the door, the safety latch was still intact, the sheets on the bed. Kile apparently died alone in his sleep, sometime after 10 p.m., following a low-key dinner with his brother Danny. Authorities attributed it to "natural causes," pending an autopsy.

There is a long list of players who, given their lifestyles, would be candidates for early deaths: Ken Caminiti, Darryl Strawberry, any of those puffed-up steroid users who willingly risk their health for a few more points on the batting average.

From all accounts, the lanky 6-5 Kile belonged nowhere near that list. He wasn't taking any medication, according to the Cardinals team doctor. Matt Galante, a Mets coach whose relationship with Kile extends across 15 years, tearily recalled undergoing physicals with Kile, and never once heard the man he called "another son" complain of maladies outside of an aching shoulder and a disobedient breaking ball.

"I just know his passing had nothing to do with anything illegal," Galante was saying at Shea on Saturday night, before the Royals beat the Mets, 4-1. "He wasn't a fitness fanatic . . . but he kept himself in good shape. There's too much good from Darryl to think anything bad. I just know that in my heart."

And yet, the climate in sports - baseball's lax rules regarding supplements banned by most every professional league - lends itself to wild speculation. Two football players dropped dead last year after taking ephedrine, a supplement that the FDA has likened to speed-lite and is as prevalent in clubhouses as Gatorade.

Maybe it was genetic: Kile's father died shortly after a heart attack, at the age of 44.

Maybe the only explanation is, as Mets pitcher Bobby Jones eloquently said: "As you all know, the man upstairs always takes the special people. Always. He was a special person."

The Mets clubhouse, so far away from Wrigley Field, where the game between the Cubs and Cardinals was canceled, could not have been more somber. Jones, a one-time Rockies teammate, sat at his locker, his head buried in his hands, unable to look at the TV that kept relaying this awful, incomprehensible news. Joe McEwing, whose path crossed Kile's for a mere six weeks in St. Louis, six weeks that will stick with McEwing forever, kept talking about Kile in the present tense.

Pedro Astacio, Saturday night's Mets starter, could not bear it. He too was with Kile in Colorado, the place where baseballs are launched and pitchers are sunk, but Kile somehow made it tolerable. Astacio wandered out into the tunnel that leads to the field and started dialing madly on his cell phone. Could somebody please tell him this was all a terrible joke? It was tough to punch in numbers with his fingers trembling so; the Mets even told Astacio he could sit out this start, but Astacio insisted on pitching, in honor of his friend.

And there was Galante, bat in hand, not sure what to do with it. How could a person hit fungos at a time like this? Galante first saw Kile in 1987, as an Astros prospect in the bullpen in San Diego. Kile was as raw as anything, but even then his curve could snap jaws. Years later, when Galante's son Matt was toiling through the Cardinals' minor league system, Kile would surreptitiously leave a dozen bats in Matt's locker one day, a snazzy dress shirt the next.

Kile took Rick Ankiel under his care, tutored him, helped him control his wildness. Kile quietly, and apparently without judgment, counseled Caminiti on his many addictions. He never had a bad word to say about anybody, except himself. There might not have been a more modest, self-effacing big league athlete in all of sports.

Here's what Kile told Galante just minutes after pitching a no-hitter against the Mets in `93: "I made a ton of bad pitches. I hung a couple out there."

Nobody hit them, of course, but that was Kile. Galante blew up that night's box score, had Kile sign it and hung it in the game room of his Staten Island house. It's never coming down.

The last time they spoke was in late April, on this very field. Kile told Galante about the new house he and his wife Flynn had just bought in San Diego, and funny stories about their kids, 5-year-old twins and a toddler. They made a dinner date for August, when the Mets go to St. Louis.

Galante said he had never seen Kile so happy

[GiveHyzduashot]

Another very good article.

Kile's gonna be missed dearly.

[imgreat95]

Finder on the Web: Houston's Biggio, Bagwell reflect on the loss of their close friend Kile

Tuesday, July 09, 2002








At 12:15 p.m. Sunday inside the visitors' clubhouse at PNC Park. Little more than an hour until game time. Craig Biggio was stretching his hamstrings and quads along the carpet, all the while teasing Houston Astros teammate Jeff Bagwell over All-Star home runs -- or, in Bagwell's case, his lack thereof. Bagwell teased back, something about Biggio's clout coming in the 1995 game off 79-year-old Dennis Martinez.

Suddenly, their focus was diverted by the clubhouse televisions.

Their attention was commanded by an ESPN story.

There was Darryl Kile's face in the Astros clubhouse.

Biggio stopped stretching.

Bagwell, inches behind him, leaned forward in his chair.

"Still have to see this," Bagwell muttered under his breath.

This wasn't another story about death, though. This wasn't another story about the tragic passing of a St. Louis pitcher, a man of 33 years, a husband and father of three. What it was: a tale about how the Cardinals coped with the loss of a teammate who died of a heart attack two weeks earlier, June 23.

And here, miles away on the North Shore, sat two guys who knew him better than most any other.

Biggio on the floor.

Bagwell in the chair.

When the three-minute TV story ended, Bagwell pursed his lips and Biggio spoke to his sons, Conor, 9, and Cavan, 7, who made this road trip with their dad.

Fathers. Sons. Friends. Reality seemed an odd place for baseball to intrude.

"We played together for seven years," Biggio began, "and we knew him for 12."

"It has nothing to do with the game. Baseball is what brought us together. That's the only connection between the two," Bagwell added. "He was just a friend. We're going to be friends whether we played baseball or not."

Bagwell occasionally slips into the present tense, like his friend is still around. "Yeah," he said uncomfortably moments before, running his left hand through the hair on the back of his head, "we're very close friends." The mourning continues. As it should for a guy who's the same age as Kile was, 33. A guy who first met him in the Instructional League in 1990 and commenced rooming with him the next spring, as Astros teammates and burgeoning stars -- first baseman and starting pitcher. Bagwell provided the beer and pizza, Kile brought the Gameboy. "That was him," he said, a slight smile creasing his lips and his eyes boring holes into the carpet.

They could have been plumbers together. They could have been auto mechanics or high school teachers or just about anything. Their line of work linked them. Then their personalities, hearts, minds bonded them forever.

Baseball was the plumbing-company van, the garage bay, the teacher's lounge that allowed them to spend nearly 250 days a year together. They became such close companions, they spoke regularly and had one another on their cell-phone speed dials.

"I'll never take that off my phone," he said. DK. Just like it says on Bagwell's Houston cap.

Next to the white 5 embossed on his black spikes, Bagwell painted a white 7. DK's number, 57. "That's just the baseball side where I commemorate him."

The day Kile died, Bagwell and Biggio, a second baseman, plus catcher Brad Ausmus -- a DK teammate for two Houston seasons -- all sat out the Astros' game that night. "I lost it," Bagwell said. "That was a very emotional day for me and a lot of people. Just ... very emotional." Manager Jimy Williams came to each and asked if they could contribute later in the game. All three eventually played. Bagwell ended the 12-inning affair against mighty Seattle with a pinch-batting, game-winning hit. It was a wonderful way to commemorate a strapping pitcher who never went on the disabled list, who never wanted to miss his turn in the rotation.

Bagwell's thoughts after that hit? DK. His family. His kids. He wipes mist from his left eye at the memory. "It was awful, actually." Imagine that: a game-winning hit, awful.

Their line of work is a small, strange fraternity. These three Astros were among dozens of former and current teammates who attended the funeral days later. Another player was asked by Cardinals pitcher Woody Williams to look after DK's widow, Flynn. It was only natural to them. Phil Nevin and Williams played together in San Diego. Nevin is the Padres leader who took over the clubhouse when outfielder Mike Darr was killed in a car crash early in spring training.

The day Kile died, Nevin went over to the family's home in San Diego to console Flynn. Soon after, he attended a fund-raiser in the memory of Mike Darr. One of the people in attendance there was Mike Darr Sr., who just so happened to coach Darryl Kile in high school at Corona, Calif. A small fraternity indeed.

"It's, you know, just unbelievable that it really happened," Biggio said of DK's death. "It's something to think he's not there anymore. It's ... it's ... still, you think about him."

With that, Biggio wanted to talk no more on the subject. The mourning continues, and it isn't easy at Biggio's 36 years, at any age.

During days of All-Star festivities and Ted Williams remembrances and discouraging talk of labor strife, sometimes we forget that baseball players are ordinary guys, too. Many of them have wives and sons and daughters like many of us. They bleed. They hurt.

"You ever lost a close friend?" Bagwell asked me.

Well, no, I replied. Not one as close as you did.