Cory Lidle confirmed dead in NYC plane crash

Former Phillies pitcher Cory Lidle, who pitched more games with the Phillies than any other team, was piloting the small plane that crashed into a Manhattan condominium this afternoon, killing one other.

According to the report, aviation records showed the single-engine plane belonged to Lidle, and that Lidle's passport was discovered at the scene of the crash later. Lidle had been a pilot for eight months, according to the New York Times.

Lidle, who leaves behind a wife and young son, started 62 games for the Phillies between 2004 and 2006 before the Yankees acquired him on July 30 in the Bobby Abreu deal. He began his career in 1997 with the Mets and also pitched for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto and Cincinnati. He came to the Phillies via trade from the Reds late in 2004.

For his career, he went 82-72 with two saves and a 4.57 ERA, and with the Phillies, was 26-20 with a 4.52 ERA. He last pitched 1 1-3 innings against the Tigers in the final game of the ALDS. The 34-year-old right-hander set a career-high with 130 strikeouts between Philadelphia and New York, and was a free agent after the season.

Comments

[Drama Queen]

This all seems so unreal. I feel for his family.

[chris]

It does seem unreal

[Drama Queen]

This is a national story because of where it happened and it being a plane into a building...so crazy!

[Matt]

Wow. Just....wow.

It's amazing how quickly you can let go of being pissed at him for dissing the team earlier this year, ya know?

[J. Weitzel]

I didn't care for the way one report said his 1995 replacement player status made him an outcast. Besides a few veterans who still take issue, that information hasn't been relevant for years.

[IUP Philly Fan]

This is so upsetting. It reminds me of all the events leading up to it where the Phillies and Yankees both asked him not to fly that plane, Arthur Rhodes' infamous "all Cory Lidle wants to do is fly his plane and gamble" line, and all that stuff in between.

I feel awful for his family as well as the families of those who also died today. I was at the game where the trade was announced that Lidle and Abreu were to be Yankees and he got a standing ovation. I feel lucky to have been a part of that.

[Will]

"Outcast" was such a strong word too. And it had no bearing on this event.

I feel for him and his family

[Jon]

It is a sad day for Lidle's family, MLB, his former teammates, and fans alike. It's unbelievable to have an "outcast" label attached to his name on this day. The media goes too far sometimes. It still doesn't seem real.

[laramie]

I don't know, J. When writing an obituary, the good and the bad are both fair game. It's an awful accident and of course his family deserves our thoughts and sympathies. I appreciated him as a player and certainly would not wish this tragedy on anyone.

But the fact remains that he was a scab, and there's no point in denying it or glossing over it. It was how he got his break in the big leagues. Any brief history of his career should at least make mention of it.

Admittedly it could have been done in a more tactful way.

[J. Weitzel]

The story is getting crazy coverage on ESPN leading up to tonight's ALCS Game 2. What's surprising is how many players, some of whom never played with Lidle, reacted to news of his death. Pedro Gomez of ESPN reported that Oakland's clubhouse was somber. Lidle was teammates with only two of them - Zito and Chavez.

[Jesus With a Baseball Bat]

OK. Now that my initial shock at Cory Lidle crashing his plane into a 50-story building in the Upper East side of Manhattan is fading, I have to say this.

Of course it's a tragedy that Lidle died -- it's a tragedy when (virtually) anyone is killed in an accident. BUT, is this more of a tragedy than a commercial jet full of people going down in Colombia, or in Uzbekistan? At the risk of sounding callous, I will not lose sleep over the death of a guy who got paid millions of dollars to play baseball and who decided that flying an airplane over Manhattan during a rainstorm was a perfectly reasonable hobby. I do feel bad for his family and the families of the other killed in the wreck, but again I won't lose sleep over this -- not if I don't already lose sleep over the woman who was killed by a drunk driver last week on the highway near my house, or the homeless guy found dead in a ditch downtown, or the hundreds of thousands being slaughtered in Darfur.

What I will do is understand that there are no guarantees in life except that it will end sometime, and all I can do is make sure my parents, my brother and my friends know that they make my life worth living, and they will be the ones I think of when my time comes.

[kdon]

I think I agree with JWaBB. The Lidle story is more shocking than sad. There are obviously more important and tragic stories in the world. I am shocked at the circumstances of his death, but the only thing that elevates this above the death of any individual (say, Buck O'Neil or one of thousands in Iraq) is the sensational aspect of the story.

I don't begrudge the media their focus on the story, but I won't be watching any of it and I'd be interested to hear any defense of why it is so important beyond sensationalism.

[That Dude]

how sad is it that the Phillies have NOTHING on their website?

[IUP Philly Fan]

I do not think that is a fair comparison JWaBB. ESPN deals with sports and sports only. They did their job and did it quite well covering the matter.

I do agree with you that what happened in Columbia and Uzbeckistan is a lot more tragic and a much bigger deal, but I do think ESPN and the media acted accordingly.

[Greg]

I live and work in Manhattan about 20 blocks from the accident. I can tell you it was one crazy day...in a 60 minute period we hear that a plane has crashed into a building, then maybe it's a helicopter, then out of no where it's Corey Lidle's plane! There were also rumors flying about that Giambi was in the plane for a while....

Anyway, the reason this is such a sensational story is because a plane crashed into a building in Manhattan. If the plane had crashed into a field in Ohio it would be getting a fraction of the coverage.

Awful for his family, but it's hard not to be desensitized to this stuff when friends of mine have been slaughtered in Iraq.

[Larry the Cable Guy]

i'm bringin sexy back

[theragtopguy]

Dave Montgomery did release a statement on Phillies.com about it.

Yes this is a tragedy, but let's keep it in perspective.

Feel bad for his wife and son. Other than that life goes on.

It appears that his obsession with flying did him in at the end.

After all, when your number is up, it's up.

[surfing the internet]

hey didn't cory like to surf the internet and eat ice cream during the game?

[RickSchuBlues]

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the plane hit a 50-story condo in Manhattan, and only *two* people died? That's pretty miraculous.

The other thing is that whether or not it qualifies as any more of a tragedy as any other death, be it terrible or mundane in nature, it *does* register a bit more deeply when it's a person we watched perform for two years, and ultimately cared something about because he played for a team we care deeply about. Lidle was never my favorite Phillie by any stretch, but I am just the same stunned and saddened to learn he's suddenly dead.

[Casey]

Why are people referring to Lidle as being "obsessed" with flying? Was he really, or was he just someone who got his pilot license and liked to fly? Calling it an obsession puts a bad spin on it, methinks.

[Phils fan in Brooklyn]

In defense of the Phillies, Scott Graham was interviewed on CBS 880 AM here in New York earlier this evening. I heard from him before I heard from anyone on the Yankees - which is especially interesting since 880 is the Yankees' radio station.

[fletch]

Among many non-Phillies, there are quotes from Montgomery, Manuel, Gillick, and Randy Wolf here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2622055

There's another story on ESPN.com that talks about how Lidle's Dad learned about the accident from the TV news, and metions that his wife will find out when she's met by a priest as she off a plane with their son in L.A.

Sad.

[sean]

An incredible tragedy. Hopefully next year we can all remember that the players on the phillies (and other ballplayers) are first and foremost human beings that do not exist solely to provide us with championships to crow about. Sure I was LMAO when Lidle was lit up in his last appearance, like I expect most die-hard Phillies' fans were, but I am extremely saddened at this news as I am sure most Phillies' fans are.

[Parker]

Yea this is really sad. The first thing I thought about was seing him pitch in 2005 against the Brewers. It may have been his best performance as a Phillie. From all acounts he was a great guy. He may not have been a Phillie anymore, but I will remember him fondly if for only that one moment that I experienced in 2005. We should all think of his family, especially his son. THat will be a tough life growing up your entire life without a father.

[Jesus With a Baseball Bat]

Sean makes a good point about an event like this really does humanize ball players. Yeah they make a lot of money, and yeah a lot of em are pompous asses, but I'd feel like crap getting booed like Pat Burrell whether I was driving home in my old Jeep or an SLK 500.

Also, why the heck do so many people take up flying these tiny airplanes of death? The list of famous people killed in these must be a mile long. Payne Stewart, JFK Jr., John Denver, Aaliyah, Thurman Munson, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lynyrd Skynyrd... anyone else?

[Lake Fred]

The "What if?" questions bother me about Lidle's death. What if the Yankees had won their series, Lidle would be alive today. What if the Phillies refused to through Lidle in the Abreu deal, Lidle would be alive today.

Our lives are altered by events every day. We need to reflect on the inevitable, the fact that our lives end at some point. We need to make sure that our lives have a real meaning. We need to be nice and kind to those around us.

[Brad]

It's ashame to see auto balls of Lidle on EBAY now selling for over $200. So many people now just listing his stuff . . . And crazy bids.

I checked yesterday and there was a ball on all week with no bids @ 9.99. The ball ended up selling for $318 (from a legit dealer)

Brad

[Matt]

Jesus, don't forget The Day The Music Died.

And lake fred, you can play "What If" all day long. What if the Yankees had won and Lidle was driving to the ballpark yesterday afternoon and was killed in a car crash? There's just no way to know what can happen at any instant.

[J. Weitzel]

Roberto Clemente.

[sh]

best take on the incident: the dugout

[The Other Kevin]

For what it's worth, Payne Stewart was flying in a chartered Learjet; a bit different from a single-engine general aviation airplane like Lidle was flying. His was also piloted by a professional pilot; if I recall correctly, they died because of a mechanical malfunction that caused the aircraft to lose cabin pressure, depriving the crew and passengers of oxygen.

All that being said, my heart goes out to Corey's family and especially to his six year-old son. I can only imagine the sadness of losing your father at such a young age to such tragic circumstances. And also to the other passenger's family, as well. Too often after events like this the focus is on the famous person who perished, ignoring the others who have families that are hit with the same grief.

[Jesus With a Baseball Bat]

Of course, how could I forget Roberto Clemente and Buddy Holly? Man, this is a sad sad list.

I'm going to stick with my much safer hobbies of watching baseball and playing teh guitar. No flying along the East River for me. Anyone see the A1 photo in the NYT today? That flight path above the river looks crazy scary.

[joe]

Speaking of baseball; I really dont know how anyone can beat the Tigers in a 7 game series.

The games are for all intents and purposes over in the 7th. How on earth do ou collect 3 guys that can crank it up to 100+?

[Wook]

On a more morose note, it's nice to see all of the liberties we've given up these last few years in the name of security still affords any given hobbiest the opportunity to fly a plane right into the heart of any given American city.

Oi vey!

[Seth]

a nice article:
http://www.in-forum.com/Sports/articles/142574