Remembering Cory Lidle

Cory Lidle died on October 11, 2006.  Who is he?  He was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1990.  After being released by the Twins, he was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993.  He was then traded to the New York Mets in 1996.  He made his Major League debut on May 8, 1997.  He participated in the 1994 season as a replacement player, making him ineligible to join the MLB Players union.  He later played for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and the New York Yankees.  He had a mediocre big league career.  He was 82-72 overall, with a 4.57 ERA.  His best season was with Oakland in 2001, posting a 13-6 record with a 3.59 ERA as a starter.  He won 12 games with Toronto in 2003, 12 with Cincinnati & Philadelphia in 2004, and 12 with Philadelphia & the Yankees in 2006. 

In 2006, he was traded from Philadelphia, along with outfielder Bobby Abreu, to the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Matt Smith and Carlos Monasterios, catcher Jesus Sanchez.  In his debut with the Yankees, he pitched 6 shutout innings, allowing just three hits, in completing a five-game, four day, sweep over the then second place, Boston Red Sox.  He pitched in his final game on October 7, 2006, in an American League Division Series game, against the Detroit Tigers.

In 2006, the Tigers were on their way to making the playoffs for the first time since 1987.  It had been a long wait for us Tigers fans.  Me, being a life long, die hard, Tigers fan (I have a Tigers tattoo on my right arm that I got on October 13, 2000), was excited at the prospects of my team finally making the playoffs after several long, lean years.  They were in a battle for first place with the Minnesota Twins going down to the wire.  The battle came down to the final two series of the year against Toronto and Kansas City.  They lost 2 of 3 to the Blue Jays, but still had hopes of their first division title since 1987, still alive.  In a tough final three games against they Royals, they Tigers ended up getting swept.  A tough finish to a great year.  Luckily, they were ahead enough in the Wild Card standings, that they still ended up making the playoffs with a 95-67 record, six games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  With a two or three games to go in the regular season, I was able to buy two tickets to the second home game of the ALDS.  A lot had to happen in order for me to be able to go.  After buying the tickets, I asked my friend, Doug, who lived in Virginia at the time, if he would want to go with me.  We have been friends since sixth grade, and have seen numerous Tigers games together over the years.  Him, being as big a Tigers fan as I am, there wasn't anyone else (maybe besides my Dad), that I'd want to attend this game with.  He said yes, he would make the drive back and go.  Still, the odds were stacked against us.  We didn't know if the Tigers would end up winning the division or make it as a Wild Card.  After being swept by the Royals, the Tigers drew the dominant New York Yankees.  The Yankees could easily sweep the Tigers, so a second home game seemed out of reach.  The Yankees had home field advantage.  This meant they would host games 1, 2, and 5. 

In Game 1, the Yankees scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning, on their way to winning 8-4.  In Game 2, with rookie 17 game winner, Justin Verlander on the mound, the Tigers won the game 4-3.  Verlander pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs.  The Tigers bullpen, behind Jamie Walker, Joel Zumaya, and Todd Jones, held the Yankees scoreless, allowing the Tigers to even the series at one game a piece.  This win assured us of a second home game for the Tigers.  Doug made the trip up that Thursday.  We stayed in the Detroit area, with another one of our close friends, Jim.  We watched Game 3 at his house, as Kenny Rogers dominated the Yankees 6-0.  The Tigers were up 2-1 in the series, setting the stage for a possible Game 4 clincher.  Needless to say, we were very excited.

We arrived at Game 4, extremely excited to see something special.  We knew the possibility that the Tigers could lose, but we didn't care.  We were at a Tigers playoff game for the first time in our lives.  This game didn't disappoint.   Jeremy Bonderman started for the Tigers and started off well.  The game was flying by in the first few innings.  Bonderman was dominant with only (approximately) 36 pitches thru 5 innings.  The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead.  I don't think we have ever yelled so much at a game, I know I hadn't.  My voice, for the first time in my life, was almost gone by the 6th inning.  It seemed like fate was aligning.  Bonderman ended up pitching a solid 8 1/3 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4, and walking just one.  His slider was phenomenal, keeping the Yankees hitters off balance all night long.  The Tigers ended up winning the game, 8-3, and eliminating the mighty New York Yankees.  We were out of our minds with excitement, because our Tigers, were moving on.  They ended up sweeping the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series.  Magglio Ordonez, hit a game-winning Homerun in Game 4 (that ironically, our friend Jim was at) and sending the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984.  Sadly, the St. Louis Cardinals ended up winning in 5 games. 

Quietly in Game 4 against the Yankees, a pitcher who, unless you were a big Baseball fan, people probably didn't know, Cory Lidle, made an appearance.  In the second inning, Lidle relieved starting pitcher, Jamey Wright.  Wright had given up 4 runs.  Lidle pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up 3.  Little did we know, that would be the final game Lidle would ever pitch in his life.

Cory Lidle liked to fly.  Lidle earned his pilots license during the off season between 2005 and 2006.  He had only 88 hours of total flying time under his belt, 48 of them as the lead pilot.  Four months prior to the crash, he had bought a Cirrus SR20, which is a small, light plane.  In July of 2006, he spent three days learning how to fly it.  In those three days he logged 12.5 hours of flight time, mostly in someone else's plane. 

On the morning of October 11, 2006, Lidle, along with a more experienced pilot, took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.  Although the Lidle was the least experienced of the two, he climbed into the lead seat, which is located on the left side of the plane.  They were flying down the East River.  They were in the air about four hours, when disaster happened.  According to witnesses, and the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was attempting to make a 180-degree turn over the East River.  The plane ended up making a steep turn, and started to wobble.  It ended up crashing into the side of a building, killing Lidle and the co-pilot.  Twenty-one additional people were injured, including several New York City firefighters. 

I was watching CNN that day.  They were showing breaking news of a plane that had crashed into a building.  After September 11, 2001, you think of possible terrorism.  As the story unfolded over several hours, word came that one of the people on board was Cory Lidle.  Thoughts raced through my mind at the time.  Didn't he pitch in Game 4? I wasn't completely sure due to the fact that I was caught up in the euphoria of the Tigers winning.  I ended up looking up the box score and sure enough, Lidle's name was there.  I couldn't believe it.  Just 5 days earlier, I had seen him pitch.  Just 5 days later, than man had died. 

Admittedly, I barely remember him in the game.  I vaguely remember seeing his #30 from my seat high up down the right field line at Comerica Park, giving up an RBI single to Ordonez, and a two run double to Carlos Guillen.  Lidle's delivery during that game is still fresh in my mind today.  I still can't believe I saw a man alive, throwing pitches in a crucial playoff game, then dying just 5 days later. 

Cory Lidle left behind a wife and a six year old son. 

(Information gathered from the New York Times and Wikipedia)