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Albert Pujols was in the middle of his second MLB season while at Wrigley Field and about to find out some of the worst news of his life.
at Pujols St. Louis Cardinals were in Chicago on June 22, 2002 to face their NL Central rivals the Cubs when catcher Joe Girardi announced to the crowd at Wrigley Field that their game had been canceled due to a “tragedy in the Cardinals family.”
Just before Girardi addressed the crowd, the Cardinals were informed that starting pitcher Darryl Kile had died suddenly at the age of 33.
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Albert Pujols and Darryl Kile of the St. Louis Cardinals walk onto the field during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, May 10, 2001. (Elsa/Getty Images)
“I mean, it was devastating, and you start crying, it was a bad experience for us,” Pujols recalled to PK Press Club Digital of “the first guy to take me under his wing.”
Nearly 24 years after Kile’s death, 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 his father did to me,” Pujols said in a joint interview with Sierra Kile, pointing to her, “the impact he had on me in that short period of time that we worked together, it was pretty special.”
“A great human being who unfortunately left this earth too soon, but he made this impact, and now we can kind of 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 participate. And I’m really happy to see Sierra here.”
Sierra Kile was excited to have Pujols on her team.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘The last time I saw you, you were five years old and you were little,’” Kile said of reconnecting with the 703-homer MLB legend. “But being a part of this program with Merck, being able to use my dad’s story to help raise awareness about the dangers of bad cholesterol and seeing your doctor, it means a lot to me, and I’m really happy to have Albert and so many people involved in this.”
The St. Louis Cardinals are on the field watching a video 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 carry on her father’s legacy.
“My mom, when she was raising my brothers and I, did a really good job of telling me about my dad, and I think seeing the players that he worked with, tells me nothing but amazing things about him as a teammate, a player and just a guy in general,” Kile said. “And I got to live in his shoes because of the stories I heard from Albert and some of the guys he played with, it was just amazing.”
Pujols played for 22 seasons in MLB, eventually becoming a mentor to the next generation, namely Mike Trout. Once he became an established veteran, he knew how to pay it forward, and he knows how to do the same in retirement.
“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 guide me. It was because of moments like this, and moments like this, and moments like I’ve had in my 22 years as a professional, guiding others as well, and hopefully, who knows where this story will go when you really make a difference on someone,” Pujols said.
A Darryl Kile jersey hangs in the 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 that he had in my life, it’s really special. And it’s good to see and connect with Sierra, with the family, and just mention his name, and use this tragedy for a positive moment.”
