ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Two decades have passed since the tragedy of Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball.
On June 22, 2002, he died of a heart attack at a Chicago hotel. Louis Cardinals by Darryl Kile. His sudden death came just four days after the Cardinals lost 77-year-old longtime broadcaster Jack Buck.
The Cardinals had to play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The team staff noticed Kile was missing from the pre-game warm-ups. This caused the game to be delayed at 12.20 and the game was finally postponed when the Cardinals learned of the tragedy.
During the day, a hotel employee entered Kile’s hotel room and found him dead in bed. An autopsy later revealed that Kile died of a heart attack with 90% occlusion of the two coronary arteries.
FOX 2, which was to broadcast Cardinals-Cubs on that day as part of the MLB broadcast of FOX, learned of Kile’s death during the delay. While another MLB game aired instead of the expected Cardinals-Cubs match, FOX 2 crawled, saying: “A Chicago doctor confirms that the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile is dead. The facts are not yet known. That’s why the Cardinals Elliott Davis briefly gave the short excerpt above after FOX 2 confirmed these details about Kile’s death.
Moments later, former Cardinal and then-Cubs catcher Joe Girad held back tears, sending an emotional message to Wrigley Field:
“Thank you for your patience. We regret the tragedy in the Cardinals family that the Commissioner canceled today’s game.… Please be respectful. Finally, you know what happened. I ask you to pray for the St. Louis Cardinals family.”
FOX sports broadcaster Joe Buck aired just a few days after his father’s death and after Girard’s announcement on national television about Kile’s death.
“The reason for the delay is that the Cardinals and Major League Baseball tried to contact Darryl Kile’s wife,” Buck said during the show. “Flynn Kile received a moment’s notice from her husband [Darryl Kile] was found dead in his hotel room this morning. Therefore, this game was canceled.
The Cardinals and Cubs resumed their activities one evening after discussions with the Kile family. From then on, the Cardinals wore the “DK57” patch in honor of their fallout teammate for the rest of the season. As a tribute, the Cardinals also hung Kile’s shirt in the trench for the rest of the season.
Gathering behind a fallen teammate, the Cardinals finished the 2002 MLB season with a score of 97:65 and won the NL Central Division title. Albert Pujols, who was in his second season at the Cardinals at the time, wore a Kile shirt to the square in memory of their fallen thrower. The Cardinals’ 2002 season ended with the loss of the National League Championship to the San Francisco Giants.
The film achieved 1,368 strikes with three MLB teams during the 4.12 ERA with 133: 119 and 12 MLB seasons. It included 41-24 records, 3.72 ERA and 421 breakthroughs in the last three years with the Cardinals.
“An incredible teammate and person,” said former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny, who described Kile as a close friend. 2017 interview with Bally Sports Midwest. “Someone I always mention when someone asks what a teammate looks like.
“This guy took me under his wing and really showed me what it means to be a pro, what it means to be a cardinal,” Rick Ankiel said. 2017 segment with Bally Sports Midwest. “He really kept the clubhouse together. An amazing teammate in an amazing way.”
Cardinals’ newcomer Zack Thompson, who made his debut on June 3, is now number 57. He is the first Cardinals player to carry that number since Kile’s death.
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