Darryl Kile

Darryl Kile
Pitcher
Born: December 2, 1968(1968-12-02) Garden Grove, California
Died: June 22, 2002(2002-06-22) (aged 33) Chicago, Illinois
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 8, 1991 for the Houston Astros
Last MLB appearance
June 18, 2002 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	133–119
Earned run average	4.12
Strikeouts	1,668
Teams
Houston Astros (1991–1997) Colorado Rockies (1998–1999) St. Louis Cardinals (2000–2002)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star selection (1993, 1997, 2000) Pitched a no-hitter on September 8, 1993

Darryl Andrew Kile (December 2, 1968 – June 22, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1991-2002 for three different teams in his career. In his first season for the Cardinals, he won 20 games in 2000 as the team reached the postseason for the first time in four years. They advanced to the playoffs in the next two seasons. Kile, known for his sharp, big-breaking curveball, died of coronary disease in Chicago, where he and the Cardinals were staying for a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs. He was the first active major league player to die during the regular season since the New York Yankees' Thurman Munson died in an aviation accident in 1979. The cause of death was attributed to a 90% blockage in two coronary arteries.

Biography

Houston Astros

Kile was selected by the Houston Astros in the 30th round of the 1987 Major League draft. Having been successful with the Tucson Toros, the Astros' AAA club in the Pacific Coast League, Kile entered the majors in 1991, going 7–11 in 22 starts. In his first major league start on April 24, 1991, Kile had a no-hitter going when he was lifted after six innings by manager Art Howe, who wanted to protect the 22-year-old rookie's arm. Kile's breakthrough year came in 1993 when he went 15–8 with a 3.51 earned run average and made the All-Star team. On September 8, Kile pitched a no-hitter against the New York Mets.^[1] He pitched seven seasons with the Astros, mostly as a starter. Another strong season was 1997, when he went 19–7, compiled a 2.57 ERA, made the All-Star team again, threw a career-high 255-2/3 innings, and pitched four shutouts. He finished fifth in voting for the NL Cy Young Award. Kile made his first postseason appearance in Game 1 of the 1997 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, giving up only two hits but suffering a hard-luck 2–1 loss. Atlanta swept Houston in the best-of-five series.

Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals

In 1998, Kile signed with the Colorado Rockies as a free agent. Kile suffered control problems, allowing hitters to lay off his curveball. After two seasons in which he was a combined 21-30 and posted ERAs of 5.20 and 6.61, Kile was traded to the Cardinals. In his first season with St. Louis, Kile went 20-9, becoming the first Cardinal pitcher since John Tudor and Joaquín Andújar in 1985 to win twenty games in a season. He made his third All-Star team and again finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He won the first playoff victory of his career in Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS against Atlanta, but suffered two losses in the NL Championship Series, which the Cardinals lost to the Mets in five games.

Kile went 16-11 in 2001, and the Cardinals made the playoffs again, losing to the eventual world champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS. (Kile got a no-decision in his Game 3 start). Kile threw 227-1/3 innings and compiled a 3.09 ERA that season, despite having an injured shoulder which required surgery after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs. He spent the offseason rehabbing and was ready for the start of the 2002 season. In twelve seasons as a major league pitcher, Kile never went on the disabled list.^[2]

On June 18, Kile pitched in an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels, scattering six hits over seven and two-thirds innings, allowing one run. He exited the game in the eighth inning to a standing ovation. Kile and the Cardinals won the game, 7-2, and moved into first place in the NL's Central Division, a spot they would hold on to for the rest of the 2002 season. That same day, longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck died.

Death

On June 22, 2002 during pregame warmups for what would have been a day game in Chicago against the rival Cubs, team personnel noted Kile's absence. Hotel staff entered Kile's room and discovered him in his bed, under the covers, dead of a heart attack.

The details leading up to and following Kile's death are detailed to some degree in Buzz Bissinger's book, "Three Nights in August." An entire chapter is dedicated to Kile.

Cubs catcher Joe Girardi announced at Wrigley Field that the afternoon's game versus the Cardinals had been canceled, though he did not announce that the cancellation was prompted by Kile's death. Girardi tearfully gave the news at 2:37 p.m. CDT, broadcast regionally on Fox: "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. Please be respectful. You will find out eventually what has happened, and I ask that you say a prayer for the St. Louis Cardinals' family." The game was rescheduled and made up later in the year on August 31, a 10-4 Cardinal defeat. Jason Simontacchi, who pitched for the Cardinals, was visibly emotional during the game, as Kile was seen as a mentor to him. Later that season, when the Cardinals clinched the Central Division championship in a game against the Astros, teammate Albert Pujols carried Kile's #57 jersey, on a hanger, to the celebration on the field. Kile was survived by his wife, Flynn, his twins, daughter Sierra and son Kannon, and son Ryker.^[3]

Memorial

The Cardinals honored Kile by placing a small "DK 57" sign in the home bullpen. This sign was carried over to the new Busch Stadium and remains today. The team wrote "DK 57" on their hats. The team put chalk and markers in the Busch Stadium concourses so fans could write similar messages on their caps. Since his death, no Cardinal player has worn the number 57.

The Astros honored Kile with a memorial plaque that hangs along the left field wall at Minute Maid Park under the 1997 Central Division Championship banner, the last season Kile played for Houston before signing with Colorado. The Rockies have a memorial near the bullpens. It is circular, says "DK 57," and is on pinstripes.

In 2003, the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award^[4] was established and is presented annually to the Astros player and Cardinals player who best exemplify Kile's traits of "a good teammate, a great friend, a fine father and a humble man." The winners are selected, respectively, by the Houston and St. Louis chapters of the Baseball Writers Association of America.^[5] The first recipient of the award on the Astros was Jeff Bagwell.^[6] The first recipient of the award on the Cardinals was Mike Matheny.^[5]

Kile was given an exemption by the Baseball Writers Association of America and placed on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. With seven votes, he was eliminated from future BBWAA ballot consideration.

Career statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA
133	119	359	331	28	9	0	2165.3	2135	992	214	918	1668	4.12

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• Josh Hancock

References

1. ^ Retrosheet Boxscore of no hitter
2. ^ Leach, Matthew (June 21, 2007). "Kile's impact felt five years later". MLB.com. http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070621&content_id=2040650&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
3. ^ Leach, Matthew (June 26, 2002). "Memorial service for Darryl Kile held at Busch Stadium". MLB.com. http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020626&content_id=64644&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 
4. ^ See Houston Astros award winners and league leaders#Darryl Kile Award and St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders#Darryl Kile Award.
5. ^ ^{a b} Darryl Kile Award. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
6. ^ Footer, Alyson (June 23, 2002). "Jeff Bagwell remembers his good friend, Darryl Kile". MLB.com. http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020623&content_id=60710&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou. Retrieved 2009-08-05. 

Further reading

• Bissinger, Buzz (2005). Three Nights in August. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618405445.  Contains a chapter about Kile. See Excerpt at National Public Radio.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• BaseballLibrary - profile and career highlights
• ESPN: Cardinals' hurler Kile dead at 33
• Transcript of press conference following Kile's death
• "Death and life at the ballpark", Salon.com, 24 June 2002
• "The Daily Prospectus: Darryl Kile", Baseball Prospectus, 24 June 2002
• Boxscore for Kile's last game
• History: Tributes: Darryl Kile (December 2, 1968 - June 22, 2002). MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.

Preceded by Jim Abbott

No-hitter pitcher September 8, 1993

Succeeded by Kent Mercker

Persondata
Name	Kile, Darryl
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 2, 1968
Place of birth	Garden Grove, California
Date of death	June 22, 2002
Place of death	Chicago, Illinois