There was a point during his no-hit game that Houston pitcher Darryl Kile was beside himself with frustration. It came about because of an errant pitch and a few bumbling plays by his teammates.
The Mets scored in the fourth inning on an apparent hit-by-pitch that prompted a brief upswell of bickering from the Astros. Jeff Bagwell retrieved the pitch, was actually ruled a wild pitch, and tossed the baseball to third to try to nab the Mets runner. Instead, the ball ended up in foul territory as result of a throwing error. As a result, Jeff McKnight scored to make the score 3-1.
But Kile, who had retired the first 10 batters of the game, settled in, buckled down, did all those cliché things, and retired Joe Orsulak to end the fourth.
Kile retired 15 batters in a row following the throwing error by Bags. When he struck out pinch-hitter Chico Walker to end the game, sending fans at the Astrodome into a frenzy, Kile had achieved the ninth no-hitter in franchise history.
It may seem like no-hitters are common. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, there have been 15 no-hitters in Major League Baseball, including one in the World Series. No-no’s are happening at a record pace, and even as that’s true, they get the same attention as when they were rare.
Darryl Kile’s No-hitter of September 8, 1993
Since that no-hit game 30 years ago, the Astros have seen a lot of changes. They went from one division to another, and eventually transferred to the American League. Icons Bagwell and Craig Biggio retired, having failed to deliver a championship. But now, as of the completion of the 2022 season, the Astros have won two of the last six World Series, and played in four of them. The Astros have reached the AL Championship Series in each of the last six seasons. These are the salad days of the Astros, and the Kile game sort of seems like a lifetime ago.
Unfortunately, a lifetime was too short for Kile, who died suddenly less than a decade after his no-hitter, while on a road trip with the St. Louis Cardinals. Kile succumbed to coronary artery disease in his hotel room in Chicago on JUne 22, 2002. He was only 33 years old.
Darryl Kile was taken far too soon. His life touched many people, not only his family and friends, but also his teammates and fans. His no-hitter in 1993 will always be a significant highlight in the history of the Astros.
