Editing Darryl Kile (section)

== Death ==
On June 22, 2002, during pregame warmups for what would have been a day game in Chicago against the [[Cardinals–Cubs rivalry|rival]] [[Chicago Cubs|Cubs]], team personnel noted Kile's absence. Hotel staff entered his room and discovered him in his bed, under the covers, dead of a heart attack. His death, which came four days after that of longtime Cardinal broadcaster [[Jack Buck]], was ruled to be from natural causes; an autopsy found that Kile had an [[Cardiomegaly|enlarged heart]], two of his coronary arteries were 90% blocked, and there was a blood clot in one artery.<ref>{{cite news|title=BASEBALL; Coroner Verifies the Cause Of Kile's Death as Natural|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/17/sports/baseball-coroner-verifies-the-cause-of-kile-s-death-as-natural.html|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 17, 2002|page = D7|agency = [[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Kile's father had died from a blood clot in 1993, aged 44.<ref name = PD/>

Cubs catcher [[Joe Girardi]] announced at [[Wrigley Field]] that the afternoon's game versus the Cardinals had been cancelled, though he did not give a specific reason. Girardi tearfully gave the news at 2:37&nbsp;pm [[Central Daylight Time|CDT]], broadcast regionally on [[Major League Baseball on Fox|Fox]]: "Excuse me. I thank you for your patience. We regret to inform you because of a tragedy in the Cardinal family, that the [[Bud Selig|commissioner]] has cancelled 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." The game was rescheduled and made up later in the year on August 31, a 10–4 Cardinal defeat. [[Jason Simontacchi]], who pitched for the Cardinals, was visibly emotional during the game since Kile was a mentor to him. Later that season, when the Cardinals clinched the Central Division championship in a game against the Astros, teammate [[Albert Pujols]] carried Kile's number 57 jersey, on a hanger, to the celebration on the field. 

===Memorial===
{{see also|Baseball awards#Awards given to members of specific teams}}
The Cardinals honored Kile by placing a small "DK 57" sign in the home bullpen. This sign was carried over to the new [[Busch Stadium]] and remains today. The team wrote "DK 57" on their hats. The team put chalk and markers in the Busch Stadium concourses so fans could write similar messages on their caps. In the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], Cardinals pitcher [[Matt Morris (baseball)|Matt Morris]] wrote DK 57 on his hands and held them up when they announced his name in honor of his fallen teammate and close friend.

Since Kile's death, the Astros have not assigned number 57 to another player. The Cardinals were the first of Kile's former teams to re-issue the number, doing so in 2021, giving it to pitcher [[Zack Thompson]] during spring training.<ref>{{Cite news|work=MLB.com|date=March 6, 2021|last=Silver|first=Zachary|url=https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/zack-thompson-sporting-darryl-kile-s-old-cardinals-number|title=Thompson aims to carry on legacy of No. 57|access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref> Thompson wore the number during his major league debut in 2022, nearly twenty full years after Kile's death.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Denton |first1=John |title=Thompson promoted to Cards, given revered No. 57 |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/zack-thompson-promoted-to-cardinals |access-date=June 6, 2022 |work=MLB.com |date=June 3, 2022}}</ref> The Rockies kept the number 57 out of the rotation until it was issued to [[Tommy Doyle (baseball)|Tommy Doyle]] in 2023. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/COL/uniform-numbers.shtml | title=Colorado Rockies Uniform Numbers }}</ref>

The Astros honored Kile with a memorial plaque that hangs along the left field wall at [[Minute Maid Park]] under the 1997 Central Division Championship banner, the last season Kile played for Houston before signing with Colorado. A "DK 57" sign currently sits among the wall in left-center field. The Rockies have a memorial near the bullpens. It is circular, says "DK 57", and is on pinstripes.

In 2003, the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award was established and is presented annually to the [[Houston Astros award winners and league leaders#Darryl Kile Good Guy Award|Astros player]] and [[St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders#Darryl Kile Good Guy Award|Cardinals player]] who best exemplify Kile's traits of "a good teammate, a great friend, a fine father and a humble man". The winners are selected, respectively, by the Houston and St. Louis chapters of the [[Baseball Writers' Association of America]] (BBWAA).<ref name=KileAwardBaseballAlmanac>[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/darryl_kile_award.shtml Darryl Kile Award]. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved August 14, 2011.</ref> The first recipients of the award were [[Jeff Bagwell]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020623&content_id=60710&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903161945/http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20020623&content_id=60710&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 3, 2007 |title=Jeff Bagwell remembers his good friend, Darryl Kile |date=June 23, 2002 |access-date=August 5, 2009 |first=Alyson |last=Footer |work=MLB.com }}</ref> and [[Mike Matheny]]<ref name=KileAwardBaseballAlmanac/> of the Astros and Cardinals, respectively.

Kile was given an exemption by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and placed on the ballot for the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[2003 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|2003]]. With seven votes, he was eliminated from future BBWAA ballot consideration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2003 Hall of Fame Voting |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_2003.shtml |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>