Johnson become an Astro in a stunning 1998 deal finalized minutes before the 11 p.m. The Astros later honored Kile by putting his initials near the pennant honoring the 1997 NL Central-winning team on the outfield wall at Minute Maid Park. Tragically, Kile died June 20, 2002, of a coronary artery blockage during a road trip in Chicago. He rebounded in the Gateway to the West, helping the Cardinals make the playoffs in each of his first two years in St. Post-Astros career: The money was nice, but Denver's altitude and thin air were not a good fit for Kile, who went 21-30 in two seasons with the Rockies before he was traded to St. But his time in Houston ended when he signed a three-year, $24 million deal with Colorado, which resulted in teammate Jeff Bagwell blasting Astros management for losing Kile. He was an All-Star in 1993, when he threw a no-hitter against the Mets at the Astrodome, and again in 1997, when he won 19 games to help the Astros end a 10-season playoff drought. Kile was an Astros success story, taken in the 30th round of the 1987 draft and making the majors four years later. Ryan's box-office appeal helped lead to the construction of a new stadium in Arlington and in a hard-to-stomach move for Astros fans, he went into the Hall of Fame with a Rangers logo on his plaque despite spending more time in Houston than any of his three other career stops. He threw his final two no-hitters in Texas, recorded his 300th career win and also his 5,000th strikeout in a Rangers uniform. Post-Astros career: Ryan made McCullen rue his decision, enjoying a late-career renaissance as he recorded a major-league best 301 strikeouts in 1989 and led the AL in K's again the following season. "He took the position that he wanted his ballclub and its salary structure to go a certain direction. "The decision, for me came down to one man - John McMullen," Ryan said at his introductory Rangers news conference.
But he was lowballed by Astros owner John McMullen and took his talents to Arlington and signed a two-year deal for up to $3 million with the Rangers. Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter, broke MLB's all-time strikeout record and led Houston to the playoffs three times while wearing Astros togs.
The Alvin native had signed with the Astros before the 1980 season as MLB's first $1 million a year player and proved his worth in nine stellar seasons with his hometown squad.
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