Five unforgettable days
Redbirds lose a pitcher, friend

(Author’s note: This piece is written in parts as a first person point-of-view. Some events occurred and were witnessed by the author in person. Article originally appeared in the June 28th edition of NationalPastimes.net’s Issue XI)

In a week that saw Cardinal Nation lose broadcasting legend Jack Buck, the Voice of the Cardinals (and St. Louis, for that matter), the team lost one of their top starters tragically.

Darryl Kile, arguably the St. Louis Cardinals number two starter and leader, passed away in his hotel room at the Westin Hotel in Chicago due to significant blockage in two of the three arteries in his heart.

Mr. Kile was 33 years old.

The following takes place over a five-day period after the memorial service to Mr. Buck.

It is in first person view. . .

Friday, June 21
The dream is realized

A weekend get-a-way to Chicago.

There’s arguably nothing better in Major League Baseball than a weekend series in Chicago that involves the Cubs and the Cardinals. And this weekend, it’ll be my first trip to the “Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field”. I’ve been pumped about this day since February 15, the day single game tickets went on sale.

It’s nice to go on a small vacation after such a draining week with the loss of Mr. Buck.

We leave as a family to Chicago bright and early on Friday morning, just prior to the start of the United States-Germany World Cup soccer game. After some complications, we finally hit the road for what hopes to be an exciting weekend in the City of Big Shoulders.

After a four-hour or so car drive, we make it to our hotel downtown at 12:30 pm. Just less than two hours to game time and we still need to jump on the ‘L’ and switch trains.

We get to Wrigley Field shortly before first-pitch and my excitement has reached its boiling point: I’m finally here to see a Cards-Cubs game at Wrigley in person. I’ve been outside “The Confines” a number of times, but never a game. In fact, my father, a Cards fan since 1947, had never seen a game there, either. So, it would be a treat for all of us.

We take our seats in the upper deck and settle in for a great day for baseball. The weather was perfect and the sun was shining brightly with a gentle breeze coming of Lake Michigan. I immediately thought, “Let’s play two!” as the great shortstop Ernie Banks, aka Mr. Cub, used to say.

The place is like a cathedral to baseball, sitting in the neighborhood known as “Wrigleyville”. It’s a sight to behold, even if there is a pillar blocking my view of Woody Williams, the Cards starter.

Unfortunately, the game went by too quickly. Both teams only mustered three hits a side. All the runs came by homeruns, two by Cubs first baseman Fred McGriff and one by Cardinal right fielder J.D. Drew. The final score was 2-1, as the Fuzzy Bears from the North Side took it. The length of the game only lasted one hour and forty-nine minutes.

Way too short.

Our plans for the evening included a trip to Harry Caray’s (where else?). Reservations were at 8 pm.

We got a specials treat shortly after arriving: sitting not to far from us were Harry’s widow, Dutchie; former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy; and, lo and behold, holding court with the rest of the table was Fernando Vina, the Cards’ second sacker.

As a general rule, I never bother celebrities when they are out on the town. I respect their privacy since it’s not at the stadium. Too bad that some younger kids don’t follow the same credo: they got turned down by Vina and were disappointed.

After eating an excellent meal that lasted nearly two hours (and a few beverages of my choice!), it was time to wrap it up and head back to hotel some six blocks away at the Merchandise Mart. It was a long day, considering I stayed up all night watching the Brazil-England Cup match.

Saturday, June 22d
A Day I’ll Never Forget

The day was hot and humid, and it would make watching a game unpleasant. We started off the morning with a walk down Michigan Avenue around 10 am. We checked out some of the stores on that famous Chicago street and even passed the Cards hotel, the Westin, while grabbing a bite to eat.

It was coming on noon and we had to start making our way towards ‘Wrigleyville’ to do a little pre-game tailgating and get a gauge on the prices.

We didn’t have tickets for the game because the game was sold out very quickly. The plan was we would wait till after the game started (2:20 pm) to get our hands on some ducats. When we first got off the ‘L’, standing-room only tickets were going for $60 a head.

No thanks.

We decided to head towards a bar to keep cool since we had well oven an hour before game time. Where do you go to have a few beverages before a Cubs game?

Why the Cubby Bear Lounge, of course.

We walked in to the crowded Cubby Bear to a mob of people. The music was blaring and the beer was flowing. It was a great atmosphere of people hanging around enjoying themselves to pass the time before the game. We waded our way through the sea of humanity to find a table for all nine of us to sit. Luckily, a large group of Cards fans got up to leave.

The start of the game is creeping up and the anticipation is really starting to mount as the clock turns to 2:10. We decided we would wait to 2:30 before we ventured out to find a scalper for some cheap tickets and while doing so we’d watch the game on the numerous televisions scattered throughout the bar.

One problem: they couldn’t find the game.

They were searching for the game on the dish and couldn’t find it. All they could find was the Los Angeles Dodgers-Boston Red Sox game. I head to the restroom and on the way; I hear that the start of the game is being delayed for ‘unspecified reasons’ and it may end up being cancelled. At least that’s the rumor I hear.

I get back to my barstool and members of our group tell the bartenders that the game is being delayed and that’s probably why they couldn’t find it. The bartender said he had no idea and ‘thanks’.

The thoughts began to run through all of our heads, some joking (“The Cubs are delaying the game because they can’t get the lights to turn on!”; “The Cubs can’t find their World Series flag from 1908!”) to the serious (“Perhaps there was some bomb threat.”; Maybe they received a tip on a possible terror attack.)

Either way, we still didn’t know what was happening.

Then, the rumors started spreading like wild fire: Darryl Kile was dead. The twist to the rumor was he committed suicide. I said if he’s dead, there is no way on this green earth that would happen. He’s a man of solid character with a three young kids, one of which was a new born. I didn’t buy it that it happened that way, if it did at all.

The television then reverted to a “Breaking News from Fox” graphic on the screen. We’re screaming to the bars crew to turn down the damned music so we could hear it. They finally turned it down, but it was way too late. We missed the whole announcement, whatever it was.

Shortly thereafter, a teary-eyed Joe Buck, a pillar of strength in the last few days after the death of his broadcasting legend father, Jack, popped on the tube. Again, we’re screaming to get the music turned down. The guy standing by the soundboard turned down the tunes, but no audio from the set was heard. We yelled again to turn it up. He claimed he didn’t know how to do it. What a complete joke!

Not to long after that, Joe Girardi led a delegation of his Chicago Cubs teammates, along with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and the four umpires, gather in front of microphone for an announcement. We were fortunate enough to catch it, since a thoughtful Cubs fan stood on a stool and turned up the television by hand.

Girardi spoke briefly, telling the fans that the game was canceled because of a tragedy involving the Cardinals. Girardi then asked the fans to pray for the Cardinals’ organization.

“You will find out eventually what happened,” Girardi said.

We then frantically began to dial up friends in St. Louis to try and find out what exactly occurred. We couldn’t find anyone around that knew anything.

But we soon did.

Then, it hit us like a ton of bricks: Kile was found dead in his hotel room, apparently of natural causes.

Shock sets in. Numbness. Disbelief. A deep feeling of somberness.

Everyone in the bar around us knew what happened due to our finding out, but no one in the standing room only crowd knew what happened.

And the organized crush of 38,000 fans found their way outside the ballpark to find out what occurred.

We left the Cubby Bear to walk up to the Fullerton station to avoid the Sheffield throng and to get back to the hotel to find out more information. We also had the unfortunate task of telling fans what we knew and that was like telling a family member that a grandparent had passed on.

Very tough.

We caught a parking lot attendant with a radio to hear Andy McPhail, president and CEO of the Cubs, holding a press conference discussing the situation and the events leading up to the games cancellation. More people milled around us trying to find out what happened . . . more people with shock and disbelief.

After finally getting back to the hotel located at Merchandise Mart, we scrambled to our rooms to find out something, anything.

Nothing till shortly before 4 pm when FOX’s other game of the week, LA-Boston, concluded. Jeanne Zelasko took to the air and followed with a little bit more information than what we already knew (Cards management became concerned that Kile hadn’t arrived to the park, sent some personnel to the Westin and needed hotel security to force their way into his room, which was locked from the inside), and then Tony La Russa spoke with Joe Buck.

ESPN’s SportsCenter wouldn’t come on for another hour with more details.

DAMN!

After twisting and turning just to find something on it, five o’clock finally ticked.

Ann Werner reports the information related to the situation. Mr. Kile was found dead in his hotel bed with eyeshades on, looking like he was asleep in his bed. The wait for an announcement at Wrigley was due to the fact that the Cardinals were having trouble locating Mr. Kile’s wife, Flynn, who was in San Diego seeing her dad and checking-up on the new house they were building. Robin Veres, wife of reliever Dave Veres and close friends of the Kile’s, located Mrs. Kile and informed her of her husband’s passing.

Another tidbit of information startled my girlfriend and I: Mr. Kile ate dinner with his brother Dan at Harry Caray’s, at exactly the same time we did. According to reports, Vina had asked the Kiles to join his party’s table. The Kiles politely declined the offer.

We saw Vina’s party, but we completely missed Kile’s. That would’ve added more shock to an already shocking situation.

As a means to avoid the situation, we decided to honor our reservations at an Italian restaurant, Maggiano’s, and try to enjoy ourselves.

Sunday, June 23d
Heading west

After what was supposed to be a thrilling trip to Chicago, turned into a somber occasion. Sure, the death the week before of Jack Buck was a blow to Cardinal fans far and wide, but the tragic loss of Darryl Kile was a knockdown blow. It would be hard to get off the canvas for this one.

The conversation centered on Mr. Kile nearly the whole way home, a long trip that seemed like days rather than hours. My dad had purchased the Chicago Sun Times, which was loaded with stories on the sad event. Some information new; some old.

We reached home to unpack, unwind and watch the game on ESPN.

(Fast-forward to end of game)

I was pleased with how the Cubs showed so much respect for a fallen member of their ‘fraternity.’ They honored him by lowering the Cardinals flag at half staff; flashing only the number 57 on the scoreboard throughout the game; the PA announcer spoke only for player at-bats and moves; eliminating music entirely; and honoring Kile with 57 seconds of silence.

Complete class.

Too bad a favorable outcome didn’t come to fruition, as the solemn Cardinals lost 8-3. To be honest, the game could’ve gone either way, but the Cards couldn’t grab any breaks. They will have two days to take the field again to try and honor his memory with a win.

Tuesday, June 25th
A dedication to Darryl

As luck would have it, our ticket lottery for the season tickets we share came up a jackpot: we would have tickets to the first two games against the Milwaukee Brewers.

And we’d get our chance to honor Mr. Kile.

Prior to the start of the game, everyone on the team, including the Cards ownership, broadcasters Joe Buck and Mike Shannon and minor-league pitcher and castaway Rick Ankiel took to the field for a short announcement and tribute to Mr. Kile.

Cardinals’ owner William DeWitt, Jr. dedicated a wall plaque in front of the right field bullpen, depicting the words “DK 57”, as well as two plaques, displaying the same image. Then, a short video presentation on Mr. Kile’s playing career and life was shown on the Jumbotron, with Boyz II Men’s It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye solemnly playing in the background.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, including mine.

As reliever Steve Kline told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Watching that, it was like you were made of chocolate. You just melted. We’re just emotionally spent right now. Some people probably aren’t sleeping at night. Some people are having a hard time focusing. It’s rough when you think about what we have to do. Baseball right now is taking a back seat to some stuff.”

The Cards played a relatively lackluster game, losing 2-0, dropping their fourth straight. Again, breaks just didn’t go the Cards way and the loss of their fallen teammate was still affecting their play.

Wednesday, June 26th
A memorial and some closure

This would require two trips from me to downtown St. Louis: one for the game tonight and one for something I could’ve done without . . . one for Mr. Kile’s memorial service. It was not even a week since I was last here for the same thing — that time for saying good-bye to Mr. Buck.

The ceremony began with the Cards taking to the field, which was adorned with two large tents for shaded-seating on this warm and humid day. On the other side of the stage sat Mr. Kile’s immediate family and close friends who were to speak at the service.

In the stands sat 6,000 fans and current and former major leaguers who attended to honor a fraternity member and friend. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in an article by Rick Hummel, lists the following people in attendance:

Ten current Arizona and Houston players and the wife of New York Yankees star Roger Clemens, Debbie, were among the passengers who flew on a private jet from Houston, set up by Astros traveling secretary Barry Waters. Schilling, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, Greg Colbrunn, Greg Swindell and Chris Donnels all were either teammates of Kile in Houston or Colorado. Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Shane Reynolds and Brad Ausmus attended from the current Astros, as did club owner Drayton McLane and general manager Gerry Hunsicker, who flew on McLane’s private plane. The Colorado Rockies were represented by players Larry Walker, Mike Hampton, Mike James, Donne Wall and Terry Shumpert. Former Rockies coaches Tommy Sandt and Milt May, now with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, respectively, were on hand. So were Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Clement, San Francisco Giants pitcher Jason Christiansen, a former Cardinal, and a host of Milwaukee Brewers personnel, including pitchers Jamey Wright and Mike DeJean, who played with Kile in Colorado.

Former Cardinals Ken Dayley, Todd Worrell, Bob Forsch and Ted Sizemore were in the audience as were retired Astros Sean Berry, Casey Candaele, Tim Bogar and Scott Servais. Kile had spent most of his career with the Astros.

Phil Bradley, former University of Missouri quarterback and big-league outfielder, represented the players’ association, as did former Cardinal Bobby Bonilla, who is affiliated with the player association’s licensing division.

Defenseman Chris Pronger represented the (St. Louis) Blues.

Rick Horton, a former reliever for a number of teams, including the Cardinals, emceed the ceremonies (he’s the Cards team chaplain). After his brief introduction, the Jumbotron replayed the video dedication from the night before and, again, setting off a trail of tears throughout Busch Stadium.

After that, former teammates Doug Drabek and Pete Harnisch spoke about Mr. Kile’s love for golf and love of the game.

Drabek told the crowd, “If you put down a brand-new ball, especially if it was a water hole, he would say, ‘Is this a brand-new Titleist? If you said, ‘Yes,’ he would promptly dump it in the water for you. And laugh. And there was nothing else we could do but laugh with him,” said Drabek, a teammate of Kile’s in Houston in the mid-1990s.

“DK,” said Drabek, “I hope they have wide fairways up there because we all know you need it.”

Harnsich told the crowd about Mr. Kile’s ability to drive a golf ball and his playful ribbing after doing so. A choked up Harnisch eulogized, “Nobody could hit a golf ball farther than Darryl. We’d smash drivers down the middle and Darryl would fly one 30 yards past our best. He then would pretend he had a camera and click the shutter.

“His big joke was that his ball was taking aerial photos of ours as it flew over. Darryl, I know you’re taking aerial photos of us now. Look at those pictures. They are those of your family. We love you and we miss you.”

After some poignant scripture readings and prayers from teammates Dave Veres, Mike Matheny and Woody Williams, the solemn ceremony concluded, conducted in the same class the Mr. Kile displayed on the ball field, as well as his daily life.

With the second trip came a ballgame and a fitting way of providing some closure.

Kannon Kile, Mr. Kile’s five-year old son, was escorted to the mound by Veres and catcher Matheny behind the plate to throw out the evening’s first pitch in front of a crowd that was standing on its feet applauding. Upon throwing the pitch the distance, the crowd erupted in a roar of cheers and more applause, while little Kannon jumped and gave high-fives to the whole team upon arriving to the dugout.

Throughout the whole game, Kannon lived every boy’s dream: he got to sit in the dugout during the game and hit off pitcher Matt Morris in an impromptu game in bullpen during the sixth and seventh innings. As he left the pen, all the Cardinals relievers gave him high-fives and his caretaker for the evening, Morris, then escorted the little guy back to the dugout.

A tremendous scene to watch, so much so, that I found myself having trouble following the game because I was following the duo around the bullpen instead of watching the game.

Woody Williams and Mike Matheny, who spoke at a memorial service for Mr. Kile earlier in the day, played pivotal roles as the Cardinals ended a four-game losing streak. Williams allowed two runs in 7 2-3 innings and had an RBI single. Matheny had his first two-RBI game since April 25 and his first three-hit game since April 26.

In fact, Williams went three for four.

As he was relieved in the eighth inning, Williams saluted the roaring crowd with a wave of his cap. Shortly thereafter, Williams broke down into tears after giving it his all and honoring a friend with a great effort and a win.

A fitting tribute to a member of the Cardinals’ family.

And, perhaps, a more fitting tribute to come this October. . .