Kile likely died from blocked artery

CHICAGO -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile likely died from a blockage of a coronary artery, Cook County's chief medical examiner said Sunday.

Dr. Edmund Donoghue said initial findings of an autopsy showed Kile had "80-to-90 percent narrowing of two of the three branches of the coronary artery." He said the blockage was the "likely cause of death."

Kile, 33, was found dead in the team hotel Saturday. Police said there were no signs of forced entry and no signs of foul play.

Donoghue said a final autopsy report could take from 4-to-6 weeks because he still wants to study toxicology reports. He gave no indication Sunday that drugs or illegal substances were involved in Kile's death.

"The complete results are pending," Donoghue said.

The condition, called coronary atherosclerosis, is commonly known as hardening of the arteries.

Kile's father died shortly after a heart attack in his mid-40s in 1993.

Dr. Jim Loomis, the Cardinals' assistant team physician, said Saturday that the 6-foot-5 pitcher had no known health problems and was not on medication.

About two hours before Saturday's game against the Cubs was scheduled to begin, Cardinals players realized Kile was not at the ballpark and called the hotel to ask that he be checked on.

Workers at the downtown Westin Hotel forced their way into Kile's 11th-floor room because of the safety latch on the door.

Saturday's game between the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs was postponed. Later that night, the Cardinals unanimously voted at a team meeting to play Sunday night in Kile's honor. Kile had been scheduled to start Sunday.

The U.S. flag at Wrigley Field was at half-mast, and the colorful pennants of the NL teams that usually fly above the scoreboard were taken down.

Flags on the left- and right-field foul poles that usually carry the names of Billy Williams and Ernie Banks were taken down and replaced with flags of each team. Those, too, hung at half-mast.

Kile's name and No. 57 were on the marquee outside Wrigley Field for the entire day, and the only thing on the park's electronic message board was a bright yellow "57." A moment of silence was held for him before the game.

There was no music at the park except for the national anthem. Even the traditional singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was canceled, replaced by a mournful organ version of the song.

Cards mourn Kile

Jim Edmonds leaned against a wall for support, his eyes red and watery, Kile's No. 57 written on both his cap and the thick tape covering his right wrist.

As he listened to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and teammate Woody Williams talk about Kile, he looked upward with a vacant stare, as if he still couldn't believe the pitcher was dead at just 33.

"There isn't anything you go through that gets you ready for what happened here yesterday," La Russa said Sunday before the Cardinals played the Cubs. "And I hope nobody for years and years and years in any sport has to go through it.

"You go through it in private life and it's really difficult," added La Russa, who lost his father two months ago. "But when you do it like we do it, one of the guys, it's a different burden."

For the Cardinals, the best thing was to go ahead and play Sunday night's game -- a game Kile was supposed to start.

Though there was some talk of postponing the game out of respect for Kile, the Cardinals voted unanimously to play in his honor. His wife, Flynn, agreed when she met with the Cardinals after a 30-minute memorial service at the team hotel Sunday morning.

A fierce competitor, Kile spent almost 12 years in the majors without ever going on the disabled list.

"Basically she said she thought that Darryl would want them to play, also. And that certainly helped reinforce what their decision was," said Walt Jocketty, the Cardinals general manager.

"I think hopefully our guys will rally the way Darryl would want them to and make the most of it," he added. "But it will be difficult."

Fans put aside the strong emotions that usually accompany a Cardinals-Cubs game. Many in the crowd Sunday were dressed in Cardinal red, and when the pitchers went out to stretch before the game, fans standing along the right-field line gave them a standing ovation.

The entire Cardinal team, still mourning the loss of longtime announcer Jack Buck last Tuesday, got a standing ovation as they left the field after batting practice.

"The word 'fraternity' has been brought up a lot to us in the last couple of days. It's something very special," Edmonds said. "I know my team would just like to thank everybody that's in it for understanding what we're going through and understanding what the family is going through."

Few people can truly understand, though. Cubs manager Don Baylor was with the California Angels in 1978 when Lyman Bostock was killed in a drive-by shooting in Gary, Ind. The Angels played a game the next day.

"It was the toughest thing I ever had to do," Baylor said, shaking his head at the memory. "My heart goes out to the guys on the other side."

The Cardinals were given their space before the game. Their clubhouse was closed to the media, and ropes were put up to keep anyone from going to their side of the field during batting practice.

But there are no barriers that will stop their thoughts of Kile and quiet the questions in their minds.

"We're going to try and play this game today, and do the best we can," La Russa said, struggling to keep his voice even. "When it's over, we'll deal with the rest of it.

"I just don't think we can get too far ahead of ourselves. This will demand all of our attention."