I would honestly have pegged him as a 1st round pick, and if you gave me 1st round or the field, well I’d take the field, but I’d have to think about it!ĭespite being a low draft pick, and this may have been because there was not an expectation that he could be signed, he very quickly rose through the MLB. Kile was, amazingly, a 30th round draft pick by the Houston Astros in the 1987 MLB Draft out of high school. I know life is more important than baseball, but we all know Kile because of baseball and I didn’t know him personally, so I thought I’d talk a little about his career on the anniversary of his last game. Hell, just inserting myself into 9-year-old me is making my eyes tear up a little. Just imagining myself there now is making me very uncomfortable. It’s kind of a vague memory, but I can put myself in my 9-year-old shoes and remember the eerie feeling that phone call gave me. The phone had rang and someone told my dad or mom - that part I don’t remember - and I think whichever parent it was then screamed out the news to my other parent (and me). For some reason, I learned that he died when I was in my parent’s room. I specifically remember where I was when I learned that he died. Mike Shannon did say hi though, so not at all was lost.īut Kile’s death, there was no preparation for that. But by the time we actually went to the game, he was too sick to announce games anymore and I never did meet him. And he did so, because he didn’t know how many opportunities I would get to meet Jack Buck. I’m not positive what those tickets were called, but you were literally right above the broadcasters. I remember - and I’m not sure what year it was, but it was either 2000 or 2001 - my dad splurged on seats right behind the broadcast booth so that I could meet Jack Buck. He looked older than he was and he wasn’t exactly young when he died. I knew he was important, but he just didn’t have a special place in my heart that an adult had for him, who got to listen to him for their lifetime.īut also, we all saw his death coming. Jack Buck surely hadn’t held the importance to 9-year-old me as most Cardinals fans. On this very date, 18 years ago, another Cardinal had died, but he was a broadcaster and he was old. This was an utterly shocking and devastating death that I don’t think 9-year-old me really comprehended. Four days later, Darryl Kile was found unconscious in his hotel room, having died of an inexplicable heart attack. He pitched into the 8th inning and received a standing ovation. It was an interleague game against the Angels and he had earned just his fifth win of the year - you know when we cared about such things. He was having a bit of a down year, partially because he’d set such a high standard, but you wouldn’t know it from how he pitched on June 18th. Eighteen years ago today, the ace of the St.
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