Albert Pujols honors Darryl Kile in a cholesterol awareness campaign

Albert Pujols was in the middle of his second MLB season when he was at Wrigley Field and was about to find out some of the worst news of his life.

Pujols’s St. Louis Cardinals were in Chicago on June 22, 2002 to take on their NL Central rival Cubs when catcher Joe Girardi announced to the Wrigley Field crowd that their game had been canceled due to a “tragedy in the Cardinals family.”

Just before Girardi addressed the crowd, the Cardinals were informed of the sudden death of starting pitcher Darryl Kile at the age of 33.

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“I mean, it was devastating and you start crying, it was a bad experience for us,” Pujols recalled to Pakinomist Digital about “the first guy that took me under his wing.”

Nearly 24 years after Kile’s death, however, the pitcher’s impact on Pujols remains strong. Now Pujols is doing his part to return the favor.

The future Hall of Famer joins Cardinals legend Adam Wainwright, Kile’s daughter, and pharmaceutical giant Merck, who teamed up last year to raise awareness about the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.

“What her dad did to me,” Pujols said in a joint interview with Sierra Kile, pointing to her, “the impact he had on me in the short time we worked together, it was pretty special.”

“Great man who unfortunately left this earth too soon, but he had that impact and now we kind of get to bring his story to life and use his story to really educate people about high cholesterol and this disease and prevent people from having a heart attack if you don’t take care of yourself,” Pujols said. “So I’m really happy to be involved. And I’m really happy to see Sierra here.”

Sierra Kile was thrilled to have Pujols on his team.

“The first thing he said to me was, ‘The last time I saw you, you were five years old and little,'” Kile said of recreating the 703-homer MLB legend. “But being a part of this program with Merck, getting to use my dad’s story to help spread awareness about the dangers of bad cholesterol and getting to your doctor is, it means a lot to me, and I’m really happy to have Albert and so many people involved in this.”

St. Louis Cardinals stand on the field watching a video tribute honoring Darryl Kile, the Cardinals pitcher who died of heart failure at age 33. (Elsa/Getty Images)

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Sierra was only 5 years old when she lost her father, but she always knew she wanted to keep her father’s legacy alive.

“My mom, when she was raising my brothers and I, did a really good job of telling me about my dad, and I think when you see players that he used to work with, just tells me great things about him as a teammate, a player and just a guy in general,” Kile said. “And I’ve just been able to live in his shoes through the stories I’ve heard from Albert, and some of the guys that he used to play with have just been amazing.”

Pujols played for 22 MLB seasons and eventually became a mentor to the next generation, Mike Trout. When he was an established veteran, he knew how to pay it forward, and he knows how to do the same as a retiree.

“I remembered why he took me under his wing, why he wanted to help me, why he wanted to teach me different things, why he wanted to mentor me. It was because of moments like this, and moments that I did in my 22 years as a professional, and hopefully mentor others, and hopefully, who knows where that story will go when you really make a difference to somebody,” Pujols said.

A Darryl Kile jersey hangs in St. Louis Cardinals dugout days after his death. (Elsa/Getty Images)

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“Here I am, you know, 26 years later, 27 years later, talking about him like it was yesterday. The impact he made in my life, it’s really special. And it’s good to see and be connected with Sierra, with the family, and just mention his name, and use this tragedy for a positive moment.”