#308 Darryl Kile

About the Front: I appreciate the fact that the Astros' old road uniforms were a yellowish cream color, instead of the gray that everyone else was using at the time. This was the same sort of outside-the-box thinking that led to all of those fantastic baby-blue road uniforms in the 1970s.

About the Back: Darryl Kile was a high-round draft pick success, as Houston took nine other right-handed pitchers before choosing him with their 30th-round pick. Of the righties the team drafted ahead of Kile, only second-rounder Randy Hennis ever made it to the majors, and he only tossed 9.2 innings in 1990.

Triple Play:

1. Kile was an All-Star three times: 1993, 1997, and 2000. The 1997 was his best, as he went 19-7 with a 2.57 ERA and a career-best four shutouts.

2. In their desperation to find reliable starting pitching, the high-altitude Rockies signed Kile to a three-year, $24 million contract prior to the 1998 season. The deal was a disaster; he went 21-30 with a 5.84 ERA (94 ERA+) in two seasons in Denver before moving on to St. Louis in a seven-player deal.

3. Sadly, Darryl died at age 33 of a sudden heart attack while sleeping in his hotel room in Chicago on June 22, 2002. He was in town with the Cardinals, who were playing a road series against the Cubs.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: His no-hitter against the Mets came just four days after Jim Abbott blanked the Indians. They were the first two no-hitters to occur during my time as a baseball fan.

Bill James Said: " 'His' improvement in '93 is chiefly attributable to the Astros hitters, who scored 6.4 runs per nine innings when he was pitching." Kile improved from 5-10, 3.95 ERA in 1992 to 15-8, 3.51 in 1993.

On This Date in 1993: October 27. Dodgers' catcher Mike Piazza is unanimously chosen as the National League Rookie of the Year. He batted .318 with 35 home runs and 112 RBI.