PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Friday, August 22, 1997

Hitters rate Kile's curve ball among best

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ / AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - Darryl Kile didn't wake up one morning in his cradle and start throwing curve balls. It only seems he's been perfecting his special pitch for that long.

When the Houston Astros drafted him 10 years ago out of Chaffey, Calif., Junior College, it was because of his amazing fast ball. What he needed, though, was a companion pitch to help him bedazzle opposing batters.

Kile thought that pitch would be his slider, which he already threw very well.

"When I first signed, I was a fastball, slider guy," Kile said. "I thought I had a good slider but they'd (the Astros) had a lot of guys go down (with injuries) throwing sliders.

"So I had to learn to throw the curve."

He's learned very well. Kile is having his best season ever with a 16-3 record and 2.32 ERA, second best in the National League, and string of nine consecutive decisions going into Friday night's start against the Colorado Rockies in the Astrodome.

"A lot of guys have good slides but not too many throw the curve like he does anymore," St. Louis Cardinal Royce Clayton says. "It's an old style pitch. It's definitely the best in the league and that makes him unique."

"If it's not the best it's right up there," adds the Cardinals' Delino DeShields. "Not only does he have a good one but he has command of it. A lot of guys have good curve balls but they can't get it over the plate.

"He keeps it round the plate and he has different speeds. He has a big one and a little one. I'm not saying it can't be hit, but it's tough."

Kile says he really worked on his curve prior to the 1991 season and then earned a spot on the team for his first full season in the major leagues. His work paid off. In his first major league start on April 24, 1991, he threw six no-hit innings before he was lifted.

Two seasons later, Kile pitched the ninth no-hitter in Astros history, blanking the New York Mets.

"I think my curve ball has always been pretty good since I started throwing it," Kile said. "I just wasn't always able to throw it for strikes. Now I've gotten control of it. It's just a process of learning to use the pitch for strikes."

This season Kile has been the healthiest and most effective starter as Houston has managed to stay atop the NL Central Division. Opponents are hitting just .226 against him.

"His curve ball is nasty," teammate Jeff Bagwell said. "I'm glad I don't have to hit against him."

Manager Larry Dierker credits Kile's curve ball for his overall effectiveness this season.

"His curve is the reason he's getting a lot of outs with his fastball," Dierker said. "The reason for that is nobody wants to get two strikes in the count and have to face his curve ball.

"He's getting the curve over a little better than in the past but he's also hit the corners effectively with his fast ball.

"If he's hitting the corners with his fast ball early in the count, they swing at it because they don't want to get two strikes and face his curve," Dierker added.

Kile is throwing fewer pitches because of his control.

"He's getting a lot of guys out on two or three pitches where he used to take five or six pitches with every batter," Dierker said. "As long as he puts that fast ball in the corner early in the count, they're swinging." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: