Cards Pitcher Darryl Kile Found Dead

[ZECH]

06/22/2002 4:20 PM EDT

By RICK GANO

(AP) St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Darryl Kile pitches during the third inning against the...
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CHICAGO (AP) - 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. CDT, 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.

 

[Miss LeDix]

I heard this on the radio today! What a sad story.

(this is my first time posting in this forum)

 

[bigss75]

That is really sad. There has to be some "substances" or condition that caused him to die. Most athletes are in prime shape and dont just die just out of the blue. That last paragraph reminded me of the good ole days of Rockies baseball. They could bring Nolan Ryan and Cy Young in their prime and the Rockies would still lose.

 

[julinia]

I was watching the Yankee game when I saw this yesterday. They mentioned his father died of a heart condition (or attack) when he was in his early 40s...so I guess we will hear what the cause was. Sad story

 

[bigss75]

Yeah I was just watching the news and it said it the same thing

 

[bigss75]

CHICAGO -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile likely died from a blockage of a coronary artery, Cook County's chief 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.'' He said the blockage was the ''likely cause of death.''


Kile, 33, was found dead in the team hotel Saturday. Police said there were no signs of forced entry and no signs of foul play.


Donoghue said a final autopsy report could take from 4-to-6 weeks because he wants to get the final results of toxicology reports.


''The complete results are pending,'' Donoghue said.


The condition, called coronary heherosclerosis, is commonly known as hardening of the arteries.


Kile's father died shortly after a heart attack in his mid-40s in 1993.


Dr. Jim Loomis, the Cardinals' assistant team physician, said Saturday that the 6-foot-5 pitcher had no known health problems and was not on medication.


About two hours before Saturday's game against the Cubs was scheduled to begin, Cardinals players realized Kile was not at the ballpark and called the hotel to ask that he be checked on.


Workers at the downtown Westin Hotel forced their way into Kile's 11th-floor room because of the safety latch on the door.


Saturday's game between the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs was postponed. Later that night, the Cardinals unanimously voted at a team meeting to play Sunday night in Kile's honor. Kile had been scheduled to start Sunday.


Kile's name and No. 57 were displayed on the marquee outside Wrigley Field and on the scoreboard inside the park Sunday.


The U.S. flag was at half-mast, and all music except the national anthem was canceled. There was to be a moment of silence for Kile before the national anthem.


There were to be no public address announcements during the game except for players coming to bat and lineup changes.


The Cubs also canceled usual festivities such as honorary first pitches and the traditional singing of ''Take Me Out to the Ball Game.''

 

[Craft]

Yea this is truly a sad story, I truly feel bad for the family, the team and the fans/city. Obviously Kile was one of a kind and had a huge impact on others lives, 33 years old too, how tragic.

I suppose going in your sleep was a good way for it to happen in retrospect, I mean with that condition he could have fainted and died on the field, or somewhere else. Passing on in his sleep would have been a peaceful way to go, I'm assuming.

 

[Mudge]

Everyone said he was a real standup guy, I hope the family will be 'ok'.

 

[GardeningGrrl]

Originally posted by Craft
Yea this is truly a sad story, I truly feel bad for the family, the team and the fans/city. Obviously Kile was one of a kind and had a huge impact on others lives, 33 years old too, how tragic.

I suppose going in your sleep was a good way for it to happen in retrospect, I mean with that condition he could have fainted and died on the field, or somewhere else. Passing on in his sleep would have been a peaceful way to go, I'm assuming.

Actually, the sad thing is that if it had happened when he was awake, there might have been a different outcome. The story got a LOT of press here in Chicago, for obvious reasons, and they've had stories about people who had the same condition but had heart attacks during the day and were rushed to the hospital and saved. But of course, you can't pick the time these things happen. Very sad indeed.