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The great league baseball world was stunned when Darryl wedge, who threw a no-hitter in 1997, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 33 more than two decades ago.
Kiles St. Louis Cardinals were in Chicago on June 22, 2002 to take on their NL Central Rival Cubs when Catcher Joe Girardi announced Wrigley Field -Public that their games had been canceled due to a “tragedy in the Cardinals family.”
Former Cardinal jug Adam Wainwright, who was in the Atlanta Braves organization at the time, said that Kile’s death was the “first time” he “felt kind of vulnerable.”
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Adam Wainwright pays tribute to Darryl wedge. (Getty Images)
“I was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And I looked at our guys and our guys were like … you felt a little fragile,” Wainwright said in a recent conversation with Pakinomist Digital. “If an all-star, no-hitter-sheep pitcher in the big leagues can just die out of nowhere, what should it also say that it couldn’t happen to us?”
Wainwright joined Cardinals the following year, and Kile’s presence was still felt. His Jersey hung untouched in his closet at the old Busch Stadium until it was torn in 2005.
“It was his closet. That was how much he meant in that closet room for the guys in there. To Mike Matheny’s and Matt Morris’s and Rick Ankiel’s and Chris Carpenters. These guys were able to study under him every single day,” Wainwright said. “He wanted to teach a guy sitting right next to him and said, ‘What are you thinking about it right here? What are you thinking about? Why should he throw this next pitch? What’s the hitter looking for and that?’ He taught them to prepare.
“So when I got there, I was sitting next to Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter, and Matt had learned from Darryl, and Matt was able to pour into carp, and carp was able to pour into me. It was just passing it, and it takes the great veteran management that we were in a clubhouse to get it to the Cardinals. Leaders like Darryl wedge.
St. Louis Cardinals stand on the field watching a video presentation in honor of Darryl Kile, Cardinals Pitcher, who died of heart failure at the age of 33. (Elsa/Getty Images)
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Cardinals’ bloodline still runs deep and generations of cardinals gather later this week. Wainwright and Kiles daughter, Sierra, will each throw the first pitch of the Cardinals’ game on Friday against Milwaukee Brewers to kick the team’s partnership with Merck to help raise awareness of the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
“What we just try to do is spread the attention of the silent killer. What kills more people and the country and all over the world every year is esoteric cardiovascular disease,” Wainwright said. “If you are aware of your health and you go in and see medical professionals a lot, most of the time, this is trapped early, but so many times, it is the silent killer.… So what we try to do is cardinal and to be connected to Darryl wedge.”
Wainwright encourages everyone to talk to their doctors before it’s too late.
A Darryl wedge jersey hangs in St. Louis Cardinals Dugout just days after his death. (Elsa/Getty Images)
“When you are young, you feel invincible and this is therefore a message that is not only for people who are up this year – this is also for a message for young people. Make sure you go in and meet with your medical professionals and see what to do for you,” he said. “It is very important to meet with your medical professionals and see what is exactly you need in your life.”
