Darryl Kile

Darryl Andrew Kile (December 2, 1968 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher.

Kile was born on December 2, 1968, in Garden Grove, California, near Angel Stadium.

He attended Norco High School in Norco, California, where his awkward frame and low pitch velocity — his four-seam fastball topping out at 78 mph — meant that he was mostly overlooked by college recruiters and scouts.

He was the first active major league player to die during the regular season since 1979, when the New York Yankees' Thurman Munson died in a plane crash.

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 20 games in a season.

He made his third All-Star team and again finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting.

In 1987, after graduating from Norco, Kile enrolled at Chaffey Junior College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and joined their college baseball team as a walk-on.

Between his freshman and sophomore year of college, Kile underwent a growth spurt that took him from 6 ft to 6 ft, helped him gain 20 lbs, and added 13 mph to his fastball.

Kile was selected by the Houston Astros in the 30th round of the 1987 Major League draft.

He pitched from 1991 to 2002 for three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, primarily for the Houston Astros.

Kile was known for his sharp, big-breaking curveball.

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 proposed to his wife, Flynn, in 1991, when they were both 22 years old.

They were married on January 11, 1992, and had three children.

He and his family lived in Clayton, Missouri, during the baseball season.

The family also owned a home in Englewood, Colorado, where they lived during the offseason, though at the time of Kile's death, the family was in the process of moving to San Diego for the offseasons.

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.

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.

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.

He earned 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 was the starting pitcher for Game 3 and received a no-decision.

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 died at the age of 33 of coronary artery disease in 2002 in Chicago, where he and the St. Louis Cardinals were staying for a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs.

He spent the offseason rehabilitating and was ready for the start of the 2002 season.

In 12 seasons as a major league pitcher, Kile never went on the disabled list.

On June 18, Kile pitched in an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels, scattering six hits over 7 2⁄3 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 held for the rest of the 2002 season.

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 his room and discovered him in his bed, under the covers, dead of a heart attack.

His death, which came four days after that of longtime Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck, was ruled to be from natural causes; an autopsy found that Kile had an enlarged heart, two of his coronary arteries were 90% blocked, and there was a blood clot in one artery.