Cardinals' hurler Kile dead at 33
CHICAGO -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in the team hotel Saturday, a spokesperson for the Chicago medical examiner's office confirmed.
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 canceled. Sunday night's game, in which Kile was supposed to pitch, will go on as scheduled.
Joe Girardi, the Cubs' player representative, addressed the fans and told them the game was called because of a "tragedy in the Cardinals family.''
Several stunned players walked out of the Cardinals' clubhouse shortly after the game was called without comment. Saturday's Cardinals-Cubs game was postponed because of the tragedy.
Kile, 33, 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.
The death was the second in the Cardinals' family this week.
Kile 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.
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.
They play the beautiful game as it should be played.
Dead at 29 sucks, no matter what the cause.
Baseball is a team sport. A team is like the fingers on your hand. They are independant of each other, but you normally don't get them to act as well unless they all work together as a a group. The same holds true with a baseball team. They are close to each other. When something happens to one of their close friends, it affects each and every one of them.
Cubs catcher Joe Girardi told the capacity crowd there would be no game today because of a "tragedy" in the Cardinal family. Kile didn't show up at batting practice, they called the hotel and had them open up the room. They found the pitcher dead, in his bed. Autopsy Sunday.
Game rescheduled to Sunday night.
GRRRRR
The Aneurysm
The brain is interesting for many reasons. Of prime importance, the brain uses, pound for pound, more energy than any other part of the body. It must be guaranteed just the right amount of blood for every instant of its life in order to survive and function well. Of all of the blood that the heart pumps, the brain needs the most. It weighs about 5% of the body's total weight, yet it demands and monopolizes about 20% of the volume the heart puts out. The blood vessels at the base of the brain (these are the largest, and "smartest" of all vessels) have the capability to control -- even commandeer -- blood to supply the brain as conditions demand.
When we lie down, these vessels constrict automatically to prevent the brain from being flooded with an over supply. And, when we jump up, these vessels have the James Bond-like buttons built in, to make sure that the heart not only pumps harder, but also that the other blood vessels open up enough to handle the increased volume required by the brain. Thus, these blood vessels have three things that are needed for survival:
Elasticity that allows them to keep their shape (like socks)
"Smooth muscle," that can be relaxed or tightened as conditions require
An electronic feedback system (i.e. sensors and nerves) that makes everything work.
People who grow aneurysms have an inborn problem with the elasticity part of these blood vessels. The elastic layer is not formed properly (being randomly, rather than regularly organized). This weaker part of the blood vessel begins to bulge and balloon over the years. It is this bulge which is actually called the "aneurysm."
It develops in places where the pressure is greatest -- usually where the vessels divide into multiple routes. It enlarges and enlarges, and enlarges further still. Eventually, its chance of "popping" like an over inflated balloon becomes real. When the local blood pressure exceeds the strength of that vessel's weak point, the danger of rupture is at hand.
In these people, over the years of their lifetimes, and at the points along these vessels where the defect in the elastic layer exists, a gradual bulge and finally a balloon develops in places where the pressure is greatest (usually where the vessels divide). Over time, the result is a little (and ever-enlarging) balloon called an "aneurysm." And, as for all balloons, the chance of "popping" becomes real when the local blood pressure exceeds the strength of the balloon's wall at its weakest point.
When they do pop, a surprisingly small amount of blood escapes, due to the efficiency of the blood's clotting system. It's difficult to imagine, but only 5 to 10 cc's of blood could be responsible for causing such disastrous consequences! In those people whose aneurysms bleed much more, death occurs even before they get arrive at the hospital.
"Brain Attack" 1/3rd of people with ruptured aneuryms die before they get to the hospital.
1/3rd die after they get to the hospital.
1/3rd survive after they get to the hospital. Of these, 40% end up with neurological problems that make life difficult.
It's a shame that someone derailed this thread with hateful and moronic statements - I guess I'd just like to see if there are those among us who know how to show respect to a true man.
I'm sorry for the fans of the Cardinals and praying for the family of Darryl. 33 years old ... faaak!!! He was a real leader on that team. What a human tragedy.
It's been a tough week for the Cardinal Nation.
People who want to jump to conculsions and start rumors about Kile's death are disgusting and as low as can be. This man has a wife and three children and I send kudos to the moderators for pulling posts from people with no sense of humanity.
I live in the city of the sports fan which is Chicago and we may have two lousy ballteams but we love baseball just as much as any city in America and the death of St. Louis's greatest pitcher on the squad is horrifying.
My prayers and condolences go out to Darryl Kile's family and the St. Louis Cardinals organization which has had to deal with two deaths in a week.
In my life time, (maybe with exception of Koufax)DK had the greatest hook in the game. he will be missed. My sympathy goes out to his family and to our NL Central brother's,Cardinal fans