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CNN Live Today

Interview with Ozzie Smith

Aired June 24, 2002 - 10:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pitcher, number 57, Darryl Kile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A somber mood and a moment of silence at Chicago's Wrigley Field yesterday, as players and fans paid their respects to pitcher Darryl Kile. Medical examiners say a severely blocked coronary artery likely caused Kile to die in his sleep Saturday. The Cubs played the game, and they beat -- I'm sorry -- the Cardinals, I should say, did find a way to go on and play that game. However, they did lose to the Cubs 8-3.

Hard to imagine what this week must be like for the Cardinals, because Kile's death was the second loss for the organization in less than a week. Jack Buck, the longtime announcer for the Cardinals, died last week, Tuesday, after a long illness.

Baseball great and former Cardinal himself, Ozzie Smith, joins us now from St. Louis during this time of mourning for the club. Thanks for taking time to talk with us this morning, Ozzie -- great to have you with us today. I know it's going to be tough time for you.

OZZIE SMITH, FORMER CARDINAL: It certainly is, Leon -- good to talk with you.

HARRIS: Again, after coming off Jack Buck's death last week, it's hard to imagine there could be a bigger blow to hit an organization. But, boy, how was this weekend actually -- you know, how did it go for the team?

SMITH: It was a tough go for the city. You know, I have been a part of this Cardinal family for over 20 years, and it's probably the toughest time that we have had to deal with. You know, Mr. Buck -- on the tail of Mr. Buck passing away. This was a punch with Darryl Kile that you never see coming, and it was devastating. And I think it's still having its effect on the team. And when something like that happens, it's very hard to put into words exactly what it is that you feel...

HARRIS: Yes.

SMITH: ... other than being depressed and very, very hurt. HARRIS: Well, it was incredible to some of us to see that they went on and played the game anyway. How did that decision get made?

SMITH: Well, I think the decision was made based on the type of person that Darryl is. You know, the question is always posed, what would he want to us do in this situation? And being the type of competitor that he was, I am sure that, you know, the guys got together and the consensus was that he would want to us go out and play. So...

HARRIS: You think they had a vote -- do you think they had a vote on it?

SMITH: Yes, I think they had a vote on it, and they decided to go ahead and play knowing that that would be what he would want them to do.

HARRIS: Yes. Now, listen, I hate to ask you this, but I mean, this is me being a journalist here. With all of the headlines that we have seen in the last few weeks, did anytime the idea that steroids may have been involved here pop in your head at all?

SMITH: Certainly. It has to in light of all of the things that have been talked about, all of the drug stuff that's going on right now in the game. Certainly, that does come to your mind right away. And you just -- I hoped and I prayed that that didn't have anything to do with that, and the preliminary autopsy I guess has indicated that drugs didn't have anything to do with it.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, that's good news. And it's got to make it at least easier for the team and for his family to take. And have you talked with anyone in his family?

SMITH: No. As we can imagine, you know, I think everybody was still trying to get over the loss of Mr. Buck, you know, who we paid tribute to the other day. And this here was just -- I don't know. It's tough to put into words, you know, what do you do, what you feel, and it's just a loss for this whole community right now. But the great thing about this community is it has always had a resilience, the pulling together of people, and this type of thing here really brings this city together.

HARRIS: You know something? I am glad you said that, because I read something this morning that really crystallized the whole thing for me, Ozzie. I read something this morning about how Jack Buck's deaths and passing really brought people in St. Louis to the realization of just how important baseball is to them, and how important it is to the fabric of life there. And then you turn right around and have this death of Darryl Kile, and it shows you that baseball really isn't important. And it's more about family, and it more about making sure you enjoy every moment that you do have.

SMITH: That's right. It's about family and life. And you know, Jack encompassed all of those things. You know, he showed us that -- you know, I heard someone say the other day, and which I think is very true, you know, we saw very little of the real Jack Buck behind the microphone, the little time that he spent behind the microphone. He would touch people in ways that we will never know. We had a few glimpses of that through newspaper articles and all of those things, but you know, Jack was much more than just an announcer. You know, he was a person that was very -- humility comes to mind right away when I think of Jack. He was very kind, very compassionate, and he always had time for the little person. And if there is one thing that I would be able to take away from him is paying attention to the details of the little people here in this world.

HARRIS: Well, there are three little persons our hearts go out to this morning, and those are the three children that Darryl Kile left behind. Ozzie Smith, thank you much for your time this morning. And as a longtime member of the CNN family, you are part of our family, and we give you our condolences, too. And I want to congratulate you and thank you for being so courageous in coming out and talking with us both yesterday morning and today as well.

SMITH: All right, Leon -- thank you.

HARRIS: All the best to you, man -- take care.

SMITH: Thank you.

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