Darryl Kile was a right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. Kile was drafted by the Astros in the 30th round of the 1987 amateur draft.He signed his first professional contract in 1988.http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/darryl-kile.shtml http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml

Kile's best season was when he won 20 games for the Cardinals in 2000 with only nine losses. In twelve seasons, Kile compiled a record of 133 wins and 119 losses. During his career, he struck out a total of 1668 batters and appeared in 359 games. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml

In June 2002, Kile was found dead in his hotel room while the Cardinals were in Chicago playing against the Cubs. He was 33 years old at the time of his death.http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020624&content_id=61307&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/23/sports/baseball-darryl-kile-cardinals-pitcher-is-found-dead-in-hotel-room.html

Kile's major league career began in 1991 at the age of 22. He had seven wins and 11 losses in his rookie campaign for the Astros. He would go on to have several good years while playing seven seasons in Houston.http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020623&content_id=60710&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/darryl-kile.shtml On September 9, 1993, Kile pitched his only career no-hitter against the New York Mets.http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/19930908/ Kile finished 1993 with a record of 15 wins and eight losses, his first season pitching above .500. Kile was also an All-Star in 1993.http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/darryl-kile.shtml

In 1997, Kile would have his best season in the majors to that point in his career, finishing 19-7 for the Astros while helping them win the National League Central Division title. In the playoffs, Kile started one game, a losing effort against the Atlanta Braves. The Astros would go on to lose the Division Series to the Braves. After the season, Kile became a free agent and signed a contract to pitch for the Colorado Rockies.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml

As successful as Kile had been in Houston, his stay in Colorado was the complete opposite. Denver is a city that has an altitude of one mile above sea level.http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/usa/denver/ The altitude can have a strange effect on pitched baseballs. Pitchers have noted that the altitude causes their breaking pitches, such as curve balls, to be suppressed.http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/how-to-pitch-in-colorado/

Darryl Kile would be no exception when it came to pitching in Colorado. In two years with the Rockies, Kile posted records of 13-17 and 8-13. The seventeen losses in 1998 was the highest total of losses in his career.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml

The Rockies traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1999 season. He went to St. Louis along with with Luther Hackman and Dave Veres for Manny Aybar, Brent Butler, Rich Croushore and Jose Jimenez. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml

After leaving Colorado, Kile saw an upturn in his career. In 2000, his first year in St. Louis, Kile posted a record of 20-9. This helped lead the Cardinals to the playoffs for the first time in four years. They would lose to the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series four games to one.http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/components/history/comp_timeline_2000.jsp That season, Kile was also a candidate for the Cy Young Award, the year-end award given to the major league's best pitcher. Kile finished fifth in the Cy Young balloting. He also was on the National League's All-Star team.http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/darryl-kile.shtml

Kile had another good year in 2001, although his statistics were not as impressive as what he achieved in 2000. With a 16-11 record, he helped the Cardinals reach the playoffs that season. The Cardinals would make an early exit from the playoffs, losing in five games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kileda01.shtml http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/components/history/comp_timeline_2001.jsp

Kile started 2002 with a 5-4 record in fourteen starts.http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/darryl-kile.shtml On June 18, 2002, Kile would pitch the Cardinals into first place. The victory was bittersweet for the Cardinals because later that night, their long-time broadcaster, Jack Buck, would pass away after a battle with lung cancer.http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/23/sports/baseball-darryl-kile-cardinals-pitcher-is-found-dead-in-hotel-room.html

The weekend following Buck's death, the Cardinals were scheduled to play a three game series with the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. On June 22, 2002, teammates became concerned when Kile did not show up for team drills and batting practice prior to the scheduled game. Team officials contacted the hotel where Kile was staying. Because the door was bolted from the inside, the hotel security personnel had to break into Kile's room. Kile was found dead. He was still in his bed; there was no sign of foul play and all indications were he had died in his sleep.http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/23/sports/baseball-darryl-kile-cardinals-pitcher-is-found-dead-in-hotel-room.html

Several Cardinals players considered Kile a mentor and others had formed close friendships with him.http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030621&content_id=385617&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl The June 22 game was canceled and Cubs catcher Joe Girardi announced the cancellation to the crowd at Wrigley Field.http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020623&content_id=60637&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null After deliberating amongst themselves, the players voted that they would play the game scheduled for Sunday evening, June 23, 2002.http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/23/sports/baseball-darryl-kile-cardinals-pitcher-is-found-dead-in-hotel-room.html

Autopsy results indicated that Kile had a heart condition known as coronary atherosclerosis, a narrowing of blood vessels supplying the heart. It was a condition that was hard to detect. Kile had complained of soreness in his arm the night before his death. It was dismissed as discomfort from pitching, but doctors later stated it could have been a sign of the heart condition.http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020624&content_id=61307&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl http://mlb.mlb.com/stl/news/stl_news.jsp?ymd=20030621&content_id=385617&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp

The Cardinals held a memorial service a few days after Kile's death. The team dedicated the remainder of the 2002 season to Kile's memory.http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020625&content_id=63361&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null The Cardinals would go on to win the 2002 NL Central title, but would lose to the San Francisco Giants in the playoffs in five games.

A sign that reads "DK 57" continues to be displayed in the Cardinals bullpen at Busch Stadium in Darryl Kile's honor. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/sports/baseball/01cardinals.html