I also thought about the story because I was living in Chicago at the time, and this happened on a Saturday when the Cardinals were supposed to play against the Cubs. I overheard someone walking home from Wrigley Field saying on the phone to someone that the game had been cancelled because a Cardinals player had died.Such a thorough recollection, with quotes from everyone imaginable and with the some of the most arcane details as well... and yet, little comment about how frequently 33-yr old pro athletes die of heart attacks and no mention of the toxicology report. First-rate hagiography.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball ... mode=story
If time is relative, it can be as distant as a cousin thrice removed or close as a brother. Five minutes can represent an eternity. Ten years may seem like a blink, leaving a memory untouched.
A million things have transpired professionally the last several years, but according to one man who was with the Cardinals in Chicago a decade ago next Friday, "10 years doesn't seem that long ago . . . not long ago at all."
Time since has scattered the 2002 Cardinals. Only three players who were with the club on June 22, 2002 remain active. General manager Walt Jocketty has assumed the same role in Cincinnati. Manager Tony La Russa has retired. Albert Pujols and Jason Isringhausen now perform in Los Angeles. Miguel Cairo plays for Jocketty's Reds. Each remains connected to a team that won 97 games and dethroned a defending World Series champion but remains defined by the brilliant Saturday morning when they lost Darryl Kile. His death at 33 of a heart attack endures as one of the most traumatic events in team history and a touchstone for those who suffered with his wife and three children.
Various currents separate many of the parties. Kile's widow, Flynn, has remarried. The couple's twins now are in high school. A family friend said she prefers not to speak about Darryl's death. After attending the Cardinals' games in San Diego for several years, Flynn no longer maintains direct contact with the team.
"She's living her life. She's in a different direction. I can understand that," says Jocketty, who stays in touch through Kile's former agent, Barry Axelrod.
The Cardinals have not stayed at the downtown Chicago Westin since that weekend but the Reds use it as their team hotel. Jocketty, along with Cards director of security Joe Walsh, entered a corner suite to identify Kile's body that morning.
"Every time we go there I still have thoughts about that day," Jocketty says. "It's one of my worst days in baseball. It's the worst day."
'HE TOUCHED EVERYBODY'
La Russa remembers his last extended conversation with the pitcher: a meeting in his office to reinforce his belief in a veteran who had avoided the disabled list following off-season shoulder surgery.
In his last start, Kile beat the Anaheim Angels at Busch Stadium as the Cardinals moved into first place. Beloved announcer Jack Buck died the same night following a lengthy series of illnesses. The team and the city mourned Buck at a public memorial service at Busch Stadium before departing for Chicago.
The Cardinals lost to the Cubs on Friday afternoon in only 1:47. It remains their quickest game since 1981. Saturday became the longest day in some of their lifetimes. The club didn’t just lose a pitcher who gave them a 41-24 record and 3.54 ERA in three seasons. It lost a heavy part of its soul.
"He was an extremely popular player. He touched everybody," remembers Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak, who served as Jocketty's assistant general manager 10 years ago. "When I remember how he interacted with his teammates, he was extremely gracious and one of those people who made you feel very welcome in his world. He was as good with rookies as he was with veterans."
