It has been 10 years since we were all shocked to find out that Darryl Kile had passed away, in his sleep, in a hotel in Chicago.  The St. Louis Cardinals lost another member of the “family”, players lost a teammate, and the world lost an amazing man and father.

All of this is well documented and I do not feel I can bring more to the subject.  I admired him.  I enjoyed his career.  I mourned his loss.  I, much like other fans and pundits, have moved on.  Sooner or later you simply run out of words.

About a month ago, I was co-hosting a radio program on my network, pinch hitting for a host that could not make it.   The show featured former Cardinal reliever Dave Veres, a guy I had watched as I grew up and I was excited to interview.  Before the interview was over, the subject of Darryl Kile was raised, and I could tell there was a bond.

When the United Cardinal Bloggers decided that the June project this year should be to look back at Jack Buck and the man many of us now know as “DK57″, I was not sure what to write.  I sent a few emails and some requests but ultimately was denied or met the common “I’m not sure what more I can say”.  My email to Dave Veres, however, was answered kindly.

 I did reach out to former Cardinal beat reporter, Matthew Leach, for his thoughts.  He told me that he would be running them on his blog, but he did not have a “favorite memory” of Darryl Kile.  Leach has said many times that Kile was “hard to cover” and explained why.  He did come up with a memory, and you can read that story over at Obviously, You’re Not A Golfer.

I asked Veres two questions: 1 – what is your favorite memory, on or off the field, of Darryl Kile and 2 – What can you tell me about that fateful day ten years ago.  What I got back but funny, beautiful, inspiring and sad.

On his favorite memories of Darryl Kile, Dave Veres shared the following
As you have most likely heard about Darryl and his on the field accomplishments and how he was such a great teammate and competitor. My favorite memories of Darryl were more off the field since we spent more time in the winter together with our wives and kids being so close.

One was when we were in AAA with Tucson and I think we were playing Tacoma and we would go fishing in the mornings. So one morning we are out and being in the Northwest they had plenty of rain, so we were hiking back to get to a fishing hole and instead of going through a couple inches of water I decided to go across a muddy area instead because I didn’t want to get my shoes wet. Well, needless to say, what looked like a little bit of mud turned out to be about a 4 foot mud hole. I remember as I was sinking and was asking Darryl to help. He basically said “I’m not going in there”.  Luckily, for my sake, I finally hit the bottom. Then he held out his fishing pole for me to grab onto. Of course then it was funny and, needless to say, I went into the water anyway to rinse of the mud.

So, now we are in the big leagues and both live in Houston and Darryl and I would golf or play “mortal combat” and the wives would go shop or whatever. Of course it was only fitting that they were both pregnant at the same time, too. So on Jan 15th 1997 my wife and I are going to the dentist and I get a call from Darryl and he says he and Flynn are going to the hospital and wants me to go by the store and pick up a camcorder so they can record it. Nothing like going into your best friend’s wife’s room and setting up a video as she’s getting ready to give birth to twins. Thank goodness since it was twins and a high risk delivery there were plenty of doctors in there.  I could set up without having to “see” anything. Later that evening we are at home and my wife is feeling some labor pains, I think it’s just because she watched Flynn deliver. Well about 8 hours after their twins were born we had our daughter. And when Darryl signed with the Rockies the next year they traded for me a few weeks later and we all moved to Denver. So we spent nearly every Christmas and birthday’s together for the 4 years.

On June 22, 2002 – The day Darryl Kile was found in his hotel room
Well, I can say that morning may be the worst day I have ever been through. Since Darryl and I usually lockered by each other and he was always one of the first guys at the clubhouse, it was pretty clear when I arrived at the ball park he wasn’t there yet. So I tried calling him and, when I couldn’t reach him, I called my wife to go to his room and try and wake him up. I knew his brother came to town and just figured he over slept. So she banged on his door and there was no answer.  So she asked one of the maids to open the door since he was late for the game. Luckily for my wife’s sake he had the security latch on,otherwise she would have found him. But, that’s when we knew he was in his room. So they had to get security and I think they called the Cardinals and let them know something was up. As we were out at BP the clubhouse guys came and got me and said there was a “family emergency”.  It was my wife on the phone and told me that Darryl had passed away in his sleep. I didn’t know what to do or say,I just kind of went numb or in a daze. A little while later Tony came in with the team and that’s when they told everyone else.

Those next few days were so exhausting. The emotional drain on us, if anyone watched the game the next day against the cubs on ESPN it was like a bunch of zombies. I’m not really sure why they aired that game. I think being a father my first thoughts went out to Flynn and the kids,I couldn’t imagine them not having their father any longer.

I still think about him pretty much daily, usually a DK or 57 will pop up or a story will remind me of him. We ran into Flynn and the kids last year in Anaheim at a volleyball tournament that our girls were playing in. Even though we don’t talk as much it was still we hadn’t missed a beat when we saw them,except there was no Darryl in person.

We appreciate Dave sharing such personal stories with us.  After the stories, he included one quote that stuck with me:

He was truly one of the nicest and genuine people you could have ever had the privilege to know. Also one of the greatest competitors, I don’t think he missed a start in 10 years,so that why when Tony got us together and we realized that Sunday night game would have been Darryl’s start,we needed to play it in his honor.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
Follow him on Twitter here.

A lot of great stories have been written this week in remembrance of ten years since the passing of Jack Buck and Darryl Kile. Here is my attempt to pay them homage and honor these two great men, as well as the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals that fought on bravely the rest of that season.

I like routines.

Baseball makes great fans of those who like routines. There is a game nearly everyday, and there is a beautiful order to things. Games will always have at least 27 outs, the visitors bat first followed by the home team, each player wears the same number each game, pitchers start every fifth game, and so on. You never have to go to the ballpark wondering how many innings will be played or if the first and third base lines will be 90 feet and chalked. There is a comfort in that routine.

In June of 2002, I was weeks away from turning 20 years old. I had just finished my second year of college. I have rooted passionately for the Cardinals since I can remember being alive. My father cheers for them, his father cheered for them, and his father cheered for the Birds on the Bat. I am a proud fourth generation Cardinals fan. But in the summers between 2000 and 2002, my love for both the team and the game of baseball deepened.

You see, those three summers were the years after my high school graduation and first two years of college. As friends moved to different cities, more and more small town summer nights (Rogersville, MO) turned to watching Cardinals games and less doing other things. I mentioned I liked routines, and I had a pretty good one down.

I had a great summer job, working for a small accounting firm in town that was just minutes from my house. Each morning when I arrived to work, the first thing I would do is write the score from the Cardinals game the night before, any interesting stats, the Cardinals record; then turn the page to the next day. Then at 11:30 on the dot, I would drive home to have lunch with my mom. She is a very kind soul, who would always have a hot meal ready, with a glass of tea, and that day’s sports page.

Even though it was 2002, I still hadn’t changed to reading box scores online. I preferred to do it the “old-fashioned way”, and read the daily newspaper. It was then that I would see where the Cardinals were in the standings based on the previous night’s contests, and pore over the box scores from each game.

Then I would head back to the office, chat briefly with my co-workers Jeff and Rodney about what I had read in those box scores, and get back to work. At 5 o’clock on the dot I left work and made the 15-minute drive to the Springfield Family Y to work out, and listen to SportsCenter while on the treadmill to prep for the upcoming night’s game. After the workout was done, I showered, and drove home to have dinner eaten and be ready to watch the Cardinal game.

I had quite the routine down.

As I have reflected this week on the events of June 2002, it makes me miss those days of being a fan. Don’t get me wrong, twitter and the internet has been a great tool for being a fan. The 24/7 news cycle had made information so readily available, and I feel connected to fans all over the world each night I watch a ball game.

But there was something beautiful about sitting down and watching a whole game start to finish, without reading one tweet or checking other box scores, or interacting with another human being online. Each game was its own story. Each game was an escape of sorts. Most nights, I would not even listen to the television broadcast. I would listen to Mike Shannon and Jack Buck while watching the game on the television. Of course, Buck was not able to call the games during the 2002 season because of his battle with Parkinson’s disease, but I still had the radio on during the games.

Listening to Jack Buck was a whole other escape in and of itself. He was the soundtrack of my childhood. Buck was the background noise for family get-together’s out on the farm. He accompanied me on my walkman radio while I mowed the yard on Sunday afternoon’s. He was on the radio beside my bed during West Coast games as a kid. He was on my radio during those fall nights riding the pep bus to high school football games. He was on in the dugout during baseball practices. He was always with me during summer car rides.

He was a part of my daily routine.

That all changed June 19, 2002.

When I heard the news of Buck’s passing, it was a milestone of sorts in my life. A milestone accompanied with great initial sadness. In a sense, it was saying goodbye to the baseball I knew as a boy, to the game I now follow as a man. Something purer was lost. Buck left us during the summer baseball almost had another strike. Nothing felt right. A hero had fallen.

The routine of fandom I loved so much felt all out of whack.

Then tragedy struck again a mere four days later. Another hero had fallen. A much younger hero with so much life ahead of him.

Cardinal Nation was still grieving  deeply from the loss of Buck when news of Darryl Kile’s tragic death was reported. I remember sitting at my kitchen table in utter disbelief. Unable to move or absorb what had just happened.

And yet somehow, the 2002 Cardinals showed the same resilience our nation did in the wake of 9/11, by playing great baseball the rest of the season. 57 wins (Kile’s number) the rest of the way, to be exact. The players talked of how the daily grind, and motivation to win for Buck and Kile, kept them going through that extremely tough period. LaRussa said it was his most challenging season as a manger. They were playing with incredible heart and grit to go win a World Series for their fallen heroes.

Not every story has a Hollywood ending. After sweeping the defending World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS, the Cardinals lost in five games to the San Fransisco Giants. It seemed the series ended before it ever really got started. There was utter disbelief and disappointment amongst the players. It wasn’t supposed to end this way.

For me, I learned to adapt my routine as much I didn’t like life without Buck and Kile around. You have to change and adapt, and that’s not really the point of this story. The point of this story is how everything changed so quickly in just a week, but we have not quickly forgotten those men or that team.

Fox Sports Midwest had a video montage following the Game 5 loss to the Giants, to put a wrap on the 2002 season. It was a very fitting and touching tribute, that has stuck with me to this day. The video was filled with shots of Buck and Kile, and the heroic play of the Cardinals in the face of tragedy. The song chosen for the video was “Superman” by Five for Fighting.

To many, including myself, Superman was a pretty fitting term for Buck. And though he was only with the Cardinals a few short years, Kile was the man of steel the pitching staff relied upon to lead them.

It was a week that will not soon be forgotten. Two men that certainly never will be. And a team that battled bravely.

Nothing routine about any of that. Ten years later, we pause to remember just how deeply it touched us.

Ervin Santana

On July 27, 2011, Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angles thew a no-hitter against the Indians, in Cleveland. What makes this game somewhat unusual is that it was not a shutout. Cleveland managed to score a run in the first inning without getting a hit. They did it on a walk, stolen base, ground out and wild pitch. The Angels won the game, 3-1, thanks to five Cleveland errors on the night.

No hitters where the opponents were not held scoreless are incredibly rare, more scarce than perfect games. In the last 50 years, there have been 8 such games, while 14 perfect games were tossed. The previous non-shutout no-hitter was Darryl Kile’s against the New York Mets on September 8, 1993, while a member of the Houston Astros. It is even possible to lose a no-hitter, as Andy Hawkins did, not once, but twice.

July 1, 1990 Chicago White Sox 4, New York Yankees 0

Andy Hawkins

Andy Hawkwins started his career with the San Diego Padres, which will curiously come into play later in this story. Following the 1988 season, Hawkins became a free agent and the New York Yankees were quick to sign the big right hander. These were not good times for the Yankees, and Hawkwins’ record from his 2 1/2 years with the team reflects that. But there was one game he pitched that nobody will forget.

The last place Yankees were in Chicago to visit the AL West leading White Sox. Andy Hawkins would face the lefty, Greg Hibbard. Both pitchers were sharp early. Razor sharp.

The first base runner came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Andy Hawkins would issue one of five walks he would give the White Sox. A passed ball and second walk made for a sloppy inning, but the frame ended with Hawkins no-hitter in tact.

Hibbard would lose his perfect game and no-hitter moments later when he gave up a pair of singles to Bob Geren and Alvaro Espinoza. He would retire Roberto Kelly and Steve Sax to end the inning, preserving the shutout. Hibbard would have a nearly identical inning in the seventh before turning the game over to the bullpen in the eighth.

Meanwhile, Hawkins had not surrendered a hit, nor would he for the remainder of the game. Not even Steven King or Clive Barker could have imagined the horrors that would befall Hawkins in the eighth inning.

After getting two quick outs, an error by Mike Blowers allowed Sammy Sosa to reach base, and extend the inning. Sosa, yes – that Sammy Sosa, would steal second base. Hawkins would then load the bases by walking both Ozzie Guillen and former Cardinal Lance Johnson. When he gets Robin Ventura to hit a fly ball to Jim Leyritz, Hawkwins thinks he has worked out of this jam. But not so quick. Leyritz drops the ball and two runs score on the play.

If Hawkins can just retire Ivan Calderon, maybe things will still work out. Two runs isn’t that bad, is it ? And what just happened can’t happen again, can it ?

It can, and it did. Calderon hits a fly ball to right field this time, and Jesse Barfield misplays it, allowing two more runs to score. It is now 4-0 and the White Sox don’t even have a hit.

That’s all the scoring in the game as the Yankees go quietly in the top of the ninth inning. Andy Hawkins takes the loss in spite of not allowing a single hit in 8 innings pitched. But he still has his no-hitter, right ?

Um no. In addition to losing the game, he would officially lose his no-hitter a year later when an official statistics rule clarification required that a no-hitter last at least 9 innings. Since Hawkins only threw 8 innings in the loss, he would lose his no-hitter. For the second time.

What does this have to do with Clay Kirby ? We have to go back to July 21, 1970 to get that answer.

July 27, 1970 – New York Mets 3, San Diego Padres 0

This mid-season matchup between the reigning World Champion Mets and expansion Padres gave the fans in San Diego a rare treat – a pitchers duel from two unlikely hurlers: Jim McAndrew and Clay Kirby. Kirby’s history is interesting because there is a St. Louis tie-in.

Clay Kirby

Clay Kirby was drafted by the Cardinals in 1966 and worked his way through the farm system as you would have wanted. A year in rookie ball was followed by a year at class A. After a dominating start at Arkansas (AA) in 1968, he was promoted to Tulsa (AAA) where he would play alongside future stars Wayne Granger and Mike Torrez. He held his own on a very good Oilers pitching staff, and looked like someone that might pitch for the Cardinals some day.

The 1969 expansion draft ended that possibility when the San Diego Padres drafted him in in the 12th round. The Cardinals had too many pitching prospects (Jerry Reuss, Mike Torrez, Al Santorini, Chuck Taylor) to protect Kirby, so he was off to San Diego. Instead of continuing his development in top notch minor league system, he would have to learn his craft at the major league level.

Kirby would get off to a very rough start in this game. Tommy Agee would start things off with a walk and immediately steal second base, getting into scoring position. Bud Harrelson would fail to move the runner along when he popped up to short. A walk to Ken Singleton sets up the play of the game.

With Art Shamsky batting, Agee and Singleton take off on a successful double steal – one of the most exciting plays in baseball. Agee scores moments later when Shamsky grounds out. Kirby strikes out Cleon Jones to end the inning, but the Mets had a 1-0 lead, in spite of not getting a hit.

Former Cardinal utility man, Ed Spezio, gets the first Padres hit, a double to lead off the third inning. He would be stranded there as the next three hitters would make outs. McAndrew lost the no-hitter, but the shutout was still in tact.

McAndrew would give up another double in the fourth inning, this time to Al Ferrara. As with the previous inning, he would be stranded at second base when Nate Colbert flies out to end the inning.

The Mets right-hander would give up his third and final hit in the next inning, a two out single to Bob Barton. That’s as far as Barton would progress as the next hitter was Clay Kirby. He would strike out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Kirby had not allowed a hit. He had given up an earned run, but not a hit.

He almost gave up a second run when a leadoff walk to Joe Foy to start the eighth inning led to a most exciting play. After Foy steals second base, Jerry Grote would ground out, allowing Foy to take third base with just one out. Jim McAndrews came up to bat with a chance to break up Kirby’s no-hitter, or at the very least, to get an insurance run.

Neither happened.

McAndrew grounded out to first baseman Nate Colbert, who quickly threw home in time to catch the speedy Foy trying to score. The inning would come to an end with the Mets holding onto a slim 1-0 lead.

The Curse of Clay Kirby

Jim McAndrew would quickly retire the first two Padres batters in the eighth inning. That presented manager Preston Gomez with a difficult decision. Does he pinch hit for Kirby, or leave him in to finish his no-hitter ? Tony La Russa faced a similar situation with Bud Smith on September 2, 2001, and chose to leave the young left-hander in the game. Ironically, that game was against the San Diego Padres.

Gomez chose differently, and lifted Clay Kirby for a pinch hitter. The Curse of Clay Kirby started the moment Clarence (Cito) Gaston stepped up to the plate. Naturally, he would strikeout, which would give the curse-hunters one more piece of evidence.

The ninth inning was a complete disaster for Padres reliever and former Phillies closer Jack Baldschun. The Mets would send seven men to the plate and give McAndrew a pair of much needed insurance runs. He didn’t need them as he retired the Padres in order in their half of the inning, without a ball even leaving the infield. McAndrew earns the win with a nifty 3 hitter while Kirby goes 8 innings without allowing a single hit. But takes the loss.

Did Gomez’s decision to remove Clay Kirby from a no hitter really curse the Padres ? I don’t know, but in their 42 year existence as a franchise, no Padres pitcher has thrown a no hitter, although a few have come close.

Steve Arlin came close in 197 two years after Kirby’s game. After throwing several two hitters, and even a 1 hitter, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. Denny Doyle would break up the no-hitter with a single. After a balk, Arlin loses the shutout when he gives up the second hit of the game.

Chris Young would also come close on September 22, 2006. He would take a no hitter into the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With one out, a walk to Jose Bautista would bring pinch hitter Joe Randa to the plate. With one swing of the bat, Young loses the no-hitter and shutout when Randa hits a 2 run homer. Young would not even finish the game.

And finally, earlier this season, four Padres pitchers (Aaron Hurang, Chad Qualls, Mike Adams and Josh Spence) would hold the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless into the ninth inning. The fifth Padres pitcher, former Cardinal Luke Gregerson would retire the first two Dodgers before giving up a double and single to lose the game.

Is there a curse ? The Padres have been no-hit seven times, including twice to Cardinals pitchers (Bud Smith, Bob Forsch). They have never thrown one, and bad things seem to happen when they come close. Dont tell Andy Hawkins, who started his career in San Diego – he knows. I’ll let you decide whether or not the Padres are cursed. Perhaps it is just an interesting set of coincidences.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at On the Outside Corner. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.

There are few names that cause a hush to fall over a group of long-time Cardinal fans the way this one does. Eyes glaze over momentarily. Conversation comes to a pause. Thoughts turn to memories of that day. Eventually someone murmurs that they never would have seen it coming.

No one did.

June 22, 2002. The Cardinals were in Chicago to play the Cubs in a matchup of division rivals. As gametime approached, the stadium was buzzing with confusion. Warmups were not going as planned. Whispers throughout the stadium wondered what was happening.

Then, a microphone appeared. Various members of the Cubs took the field. The Cubs’ players association representative, Joe Girardi, walked solemnly to the mic with tears in his eyes.

“I thank you for your patience. We regret to inform you because of a tragedy in the Cardinal family, that the commissioner has canceled the game today. Please be respectful. You will find out eventually what has happened, and I ask that you say a prayer for the St. Louis Cardinals’ family.”

Players left the field. Fans quietly filed out of the stadium. No one knew what had truly happened. No one could understand. Slowly news spread. Even slower came reasons. The answers never came for the question on everyone’s mind.

Why?

In 1987 the Houston Astros selected Darryl Kile in the 30th round. While obviously a low-end pick, Kile nevertheless fought his way up the ranks, breaking into the majors in early 1991. During his first career start he had a no-hitter through six innings before being pulled. His career in Houston was bright, making his first All-Star team in 1993 and pitching a no-hitter against the Mets in September of the same year. A few years later in 1997 Kile went 19-7, again making the All-Star team, and making the postseason with the Astros.

After that ’97 postseason appearance, Kile signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies. As many pitchers found out, pitches in Colorado don’t do the same things they do in other parks (pre-humidor, that is). Kile’s pitching suffered dramatically, and his two years in Colorado produced ERA’s of 5.20 and 6.61. His career was spiraling, until he was traded to the Cardinals.

As one of many that felt the apparent healing powers of pitching coach Dave Duncan, Kile’s career felt a resurgence wearing the birds on the bat. In 2000, his first year in St. Louis, Kile was the first 20 game winner for the Cardinals since John Tudor and Joaquin Andujar in 1985. Over the next few years he emerged as the team ace, shepherding several of the younger Cardinal pitchers and being a strong leader both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Darryl’s wife Flynn, twins Sierra and Kannon, and youngest Ryker, were all fixtures at the ballpark, from Family Day on the field to a little catch pregame in the clubhouse with father and son. His family was important to him, and they were held in high esteem by the Cardinals community. The Kile’s were close friends with Matt Morris and his family, among others.

On June 18, 2002, Darryl Kile strode off the mound in Busch Stadium to a standing ovation. He had pitched 8 strong innings, giving up only one run against the Anaheim Angels. The Cardinals won the game 7-2, and with that win, took over sole possession of first place in the National League Central. Sadly for the Cardinals, the joy of victory was short in lasting, as news spread that night about Hall of Fame broadcaster and longtime voice of the Cardinals Jack Buck’s passing away. The team all wore patches for the rest of the season bearing the initials JFB (as seen on Kile’s sleeve in the above picture).

It was a great victory for the team, a sad loss for Cardinal Nation, and the last victory of Darryl Kile’s career. Four days later, Kile did not show up to Wrigley Field on time for the day’s game. Teammates began to wonder. Messages were sent. Calls were made. The news finally broke – Darryl Kile had passed away in his sleep of a heart attack.

The game that Girardi had tearfully informed the Wrigley faithful about being cancelled was made up over two months later, on August 31. Jason Simontacchi was the starter, and looked visibly emotional throughout the game. Kile had been a teammate, a supporter, and a friend. The team added a second patch to their jerseys, and a matching symbol on the wall in the bullpen of Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals seemed to be a team of destiny. They overcame so much, dealt with emotional trauma, and yet responded with resiliency. After their fallen ace pitched them into first place, they never looked back, and the team finished as the winners of the Central Division. As the team ran onto the field to celebrate their division clinching win, rookie outfielder and third baseman Albert Pujols grabbed a hanger from inside the dugout to take with him into the celebration. He eventually handed it off to teammate and best friend of Kile, Matt Morris.

Kile’s jersey never left the dugout throughout the rest of 2002, and his locker remained untouched for years. The Cardinals did not want to forget their teammate and friend. His fans never will.

To find my memories of this story, head over to Diamond Diaries.

Angela Weinhold is an executive editor and covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com. She also writes writes for her own site Cardinal Diamond Diaries. You may follow her on Twitter here or follow Cardinal Diamond Diaries here.