Cardinals Pitcher Found Dead

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in the team hotel Saturday, apparently of natural causes, police said.

Kile was found in his bed and there were no signs of foul play, police spokesman Michael Chasen.

"It appears he died in his bed, in his sleep," Chasen said.

An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday.

Chasen said about two hours before game time, Cardinals players realized Kile was not at the ballpark and called the hotel to ask that he be checked on. Workers at the Westin Hotel, located on a busy corner of downtown Chicago's "Magnificent Mile," had to force their way into Kile's 11th-floor room because of the safety latch on the door.

Cardinals General Manager Walt Jocketty said Kile's brother was in Chicago the night before, and that the two had dinner together. Dr. Jim Loomis, assistant team physician, said the 6-foot-5 Kile had no health problems and was not on medication.

"Our club is just totally staggered, I mean, devastated," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, wiping away tears. "You guys know what a pro he is."

The Cardinals game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field was canceled. Kile, 33, had been scheduled to pitch against the Cubs on Sunday. La Russa said that game would be played as scheduled.

Joe Girardi, the Cubs player representative, addressed the fans and told them the game was called because of a "tragedy in the Cardinals family." Several stunned players walked out of the Cardinals clubhouse shortly after the game was called without comment.

Shortly before the game was supposed to start, La Russa walked across the field to meet with Cubs general manager Andy MacPhail and Girardi. Then all the Cubs came out of the dugout and stood behind Girardi as he addressed the crowd.

An announcement was later made that the game would be made up later.

"I couldn't believe it, and I still don't believe it," Cubs manager Don Baylor said at a press conference at Wrigley Field.

"He was always a perfect team mate to all the guys that played with him. Everybody who played with him felt the same way about him."

Baylor was the manager of the Colorado Rockies when Kile pitched for the Rockies earlier in Kile's 11-year career.

Cardinals general manager Walt Jockety said: "It's going to be a very tough mourning period for the fans of St. Louis and the citizens of St. Louis."

Kile was 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 14 games this season. He last pitched Tuesday, allowing six hits in 7 2-3 innings and winning for the third time in four starts. The win gave the Cardinals sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time since April 15.

The death was the second in the Cardinals family this week. On Tuesday, longtime broadcaster Jack Buck died at 77 after a long illness.

With an exceptional overhand curveball, Kile had his best season in 2000, when he went 20-9 with a 3.91 ERA in his first year with St. Louis — finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting.

Kile pitched a no-hitter while with Houston in 1993 against the New York Mets. He was 133-119 in 11-plus major league seasons.

"Once you take the ball, you've got a job to do," he said after his last start.

A native of California, Kile lived in Englewood, Colorado, with his wife and three children.

He sponsored a program called "Kile's Kids" that gave children a chance to meet him and his team mates and watch batting practice before baseball games.

Kile and his wife, Flynn, also delivered teddy bears to children at Cardinal Glennon Hospital.