The two were the same age and drafted in the same year by the Houston Astros. They started in Single A, came up together through Double A and Triple A, and eventually made it big time in 1990 and '91 in Houston.
Wherever Tuffy Rhodes went Darryl Kile was his sidekick -- and vice versa. For the 18-hour bus rides on road trips in Double-A ball, a game of hoops on off days, a session of the original Nintendo in the late '80s on the road, the two chased the same dream.
They eventually parted their ways -- Kile established his notorious curveball and a splendid career in Houston, Colorado and St. Louis, while Rhodes found a new home in Japan, tying Sadaharu Oh's home run record (55) last season.