Darryl Kile

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Kile was born on December 2, 1968, in Garden Grove, California. He attended Norco High School in Norco, California. 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 entered the majors in 1991. His breakthrough year came in 1993 when he went 15–8 with a 3.51 ERA and made the All-Star team. On September 8, Kile pitched a no-hitter against the New York Mets. Another strong season was 1997, when he went 19–7, compiled a 2.57 ERA, made the All-Star team again, and pitched four shutouts. He finished fifth in voting for the NL Cy Young Award. In 1998, Kile signed with the Colorado Rockies as a free agent. After two seasons with the Rockies, he 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 20 games in a season. He made his third All-Star team and again finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He earned the first playoff victory of his career in Game 2 of the 2000 NLDS against Atlanta. Kile went 16–11 in 2001. On June 18, 2002, Kile pitched in an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels, scattering six hits over innings, allowing one run. Kile and the Cardinals won the game, 7–2, and moved into first place in the NL's Central Division.

In Their Own Story

On June 22, 2002, team personnel noticed Kile's absence during pregame warmups for a scheduled game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Hotel staff entered his room and found him dead in bed under the covers. An autopsy revealed an enlarged heart, two coronary arteries 90% blocked, and a blood clot in one artery. At 2:37 pm CDT, Cubs catcher Joe Girardi tearfully announced the game's cancellation to the crowd, citing a "tragedy in the Cardinal family." Jack Buck's son, Joe Buck, reported Kile's death from the broadcast booth. The Cardinals honored him by writing "DK 57" on their hats and placing a small sign in the home bullpen. Later that season, when the team clinched the division, Albert Pujols carried Kile's number 57 jersey to the celebration.

Reader's Guide

Kile proposed to his wife, Flynn, in 1991. 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. 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 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. Kile's father had died from a blood clot in 1993, aged 44. Cubs catcher Joe Girardi announced at Wrigley Field that the afternoon's game versus the Cardinals had been cancelled. The game was rescheduled and made up later in the year on August 31, a 10–4 Cardinal defeat. Later that season, when the Cardinals clinched the Central Division championship in a game against the Astros, teammate Albert Pujols carried Kile's number 57 jersey, on a hanger, to the celebration on the field. 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. Since Kile's death, the Astros have not assigned his uniform number 57 to another player. The Cardinals were the first of Kile's former teams to re-issue the number, doing so in 2021, giving it to pitcher Zack Thompson during spring training. The Rockies kept the number 57 out of the rotation until it was issued to Tommy Doyle in 2023. The Astros honored Kile with a memorial plaque that hangs along the left field wall at Daikin Park under the 1997 Central Division Championship banner. A 'DK 57' sign currently sits among the wall in left-center field. The Rockies have a memorial near the bullpens. In 2003, the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award was established and is presented annually to the Astros player and Cardinals player who best exemplify Kile's traits. The first recipients of the award were Jeff Bagwell and Mike Matheny of the Astros and Cardinals, respectively. Kile was given an exemption by the

Did You Know?

• Kile was the first active major league player to die during the regular season since 1979.
• He pitched a no-hitter against the New York Mets on September 8, 1993.
• Kile never went on the disabled list in his 12-season major league career.
• His father died from a blood clot in 1993 at age 44.