Darryl Kile was drafted by the Astros in the 30th round of the 1987 Summer draft and was thrown into the team's 1991 starting rotation during the rebuilding of the early Nineties. Although he possessed a devastating curveball, Kile floundered with control problems during most of his Houston career.

He won 15 games and tossed a no-hitter in 1993, but his big breakthrough came during his free agency season in 1997. Kile won 19 games and was instrumental in the club's division championship. He then signed with Colorado but was completely ineffective for two seasons before being traded to St. Louis. With the Cardinals, he became a 20-game winner for their division championship in 2000. The baseball world was stunned by his sudden death from heart failure on June 22, 2002.