Players express sadness over loss of Lidle

The death of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle affected former teammates and rivals at both league championship venues yesterday, with Mets coach Manny Acta learning after he arrived at New York's Shea Stadium that Lidle's single-engine plane had crashed into the Manhattan apartment building in which Acta had been living this season.

``It was pretty shocking," said Acta, who said he left the 42-story condominium tower on Manhattan's Upper East Side about 45 minutes before the crash. ``I actually left around 2 o'clock and came to work. The real estate agent and the owner of the apartment building just called me to find out where I was. I said, `I'm at work.' They gave a sigh of relief because they didn't know where I was. I asked what happened."

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder, a teammate of Lidle's in Oakland and golfing buddy, said he had undergone shoulder surgery last month in the hospital across the street from the building.

``We were on the way to the field, on the bus," Mulder said. ``A couple of guys said their agents called and said it was him and just kind of gave me goosebumps.

``I was real good friends with him. We played golf together when he was in Philly last year, we went golfing when we were in town playing them. He came to St Louis, we went golfing. When he got traded [to the Yankees], I talked to him for just a minute, said, `Hey, good luck, blah blah blah.' That was the last time I talked to him.

``He started taking [flying] lessons when he was in Oakland, at least that's when he started talking about it. My little brother flies those same planes sometimes. When it's a friend like that, it makes you realize how quick some things can go. It's just tough."

Lidle, 34, who was signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Minnesota Twins in 1990, played for seven teams in the major leagues, but belonged to 10 major league organizations. He also pitched for an independent league team in Pocatello, Idaho, after he was released by the Twins. After re-signing with Milwaukee, he was in the low minors for the Brewers when he was asked to play in spring training games while the major leaguers were on strike in 1995. He pitched one inning, but because he was a replacement player, he was not allowed to join the major league players association when he made it to the big leagues in 1997.

The Red Sox, as did the Yankees, issued statements expressing condolences. So did Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, who played baseball with Lidle growing up in West Covina, Calif., and in Oakland before being reunited in New York this summer.

``Right now, I am really in a state of shock, as I am sure the entire MLB family is," Giambi said. ``My thoughts are with Cory's relatives and the loved ones of the others who were injured or killed in this plane crash. I have known Cory and his wife, Melanie, for over 18 years and watched his son grow up. We played high school ball together and have remained close throughout our careers. We were excited to be reunited in New York this year and I am just devastated to hear this news."

Because Lidle had been on so many teams, there were numerous ex-teammates in the clubhouses of the four championship series participants.

``A lot of people see us as superheroes, but in fact we're regular humans," said Athletics pitcher Barry Zito, who played with Lidle in Oakland. ``You guys have to remember that."

Asked what he would remember about Lidle, Mulder said: ``His playful spirit. He was like a little boy when he played the game. Crazy stuff happens and it's an indication you can't take anything for granted. Baseball has lost a very special person."

Mets reserve infielder Chris Woodward grew up in Covina, Calif., and attended a rival high school a couple of years after Lidle, who became his teammate in Toronto.

``I couldn't believe it, I was in shock," Woodward said. ``Someone said it was Cory Lidle, somebody said it even before I actually heard it on TV. Then I looked at the TV and said, `No way, it can't be.' But I remember him telling me he had a small plane and had a pilot's license. I sat there watching it, praying it wasn't him."

Lidle is survived by his wife, Melanie, and a 6-year-old son, Christopher. He had obtained his pilot's license just before spring training this season, and in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer this summer, dismissed concerns about the risks involved. ``The flying, I'm not worried about it," he said. ``I feel very comfortable with my abilities flying an airplane."

Lidle was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies when he was traded July 30 to the Yankees along with outfielder Bobby Abreu. The Red Sox had been in serious talks with the Phillies in an attempt to acquire him, but knowing that, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman insisted Lidle be included in the Abreu deal.

``Right now, I'm watching TV like everyone else," said Sox manager Terry Francona from his suburban Boston home. ``He's part of our industry. It just goes to show you. One day everybody's talking about the Yankees losing and Joe Torre, and suddenly, glaringly, real life gets in the way."

A story in the New York Times last month detailed how Lidle enjoyed sitting in the cockpit on the team's charter flights, observing the pilots. The Yankees, of course, lost their team captain, Thurman Munson, when he crashed his plane in 1979.

Lou Piniella, who was in Oakland working for Fox as a TV analyst, was Munson's teammate at the time.

``First thing I thought of," he said. ``I've never forgotten that, and every now and then you think about it. When this happened, in an instant I thought of Thurman. So sad. So sad. I didn't know [Cory] very well. A little bit. But that doesn't matter. It's a tragedy any way you look at it."

Edes reported on this story from New York, Cafardo from Oakland.