Ballplayers stunned by Cory Lidle's death in crash

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) The baseball world reacted with shock to the news New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed into a Manhattan high-rise apartment building.

''This is a terrible and shocking tragedy that has stunned the entire Yankees organisation,'' club owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement.

The 34-year-old Lidle, who broke into the majors with the New York Mets in 1997, came to the Yanks in a trade this summer from the Philadelphia Phillies. The curveball pitcher, who threw for seven different teams, had an 82-72 career won-loss record.

The Californian last appeared on Saturday as a reliever in the Yankees' final game of the season when they lost an American League playoff series to the Tigers in Detroit.

Yankees Manager Joe Torre said: ''Cory's time with the Yankees was short, but he was a good teammate and a great competitor. My heart goes out to his family.'' Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said, ''All of baseball is shocked and terribly saddened by the sudden and tragic passing of Cory Lidle.'' The opener of the National League Championship Series between the Mets and St Louis Cardinals was lost to rain at New York's Shea Stadium yesterday. Participants, many of whom played with or worked with Lidle over the years, felt a profound loss.

''It's horrific. It's almost unbelievable. It's like a surreal moment,'' said Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, who worked with Lidle when they were both on the Oakland Athletics.

''You feel like your soul has been totally bruised,'' he told reporters. ''The reaction is just total disbelief.'' In Oakland, where the Athletics were playing the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series, fans honored Lidle with a moment of silence. Lidle played for Oakland in the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

'BROTHERHOOD' Lidle took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, just miles (km) from Manhattan, and circled the Statue of Liberty before flying north and eventually crashing, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a briefing.

The plane crashed on the Upper East Side near the East River, into a 52-story building composed largely of upscale apartments.

Mets third base coach Manny Acta, who lives in the building, had left his apartment a little more than a half hour before the crash to come to the ballpark.

''It was pretty shocking,'' Acta told reporters outside the Mets locker room before the game was postponed.

''I left about 2 o'clock to come to work. Then the real estate agent called me to find out where I was,'' said Acta, who said he had talked to her at 1 p.m. to tell her he was moving out this week.

St Louis reliever Jason Isringhausen played with Lidle during their Oakland days.

''He was a great teammate in Oakland. We all had a real good time together,'' he said. ''We were all just a big brotherhood over there.

''I always thought he was a little quirky,'' said Isringhausen, who illustrated with an anecdote.

''He had a twin brother and we played a joke on Peterson, the pitching coach.

''We put his brother in Cory's uniform to throw a bullpen (session) one day. And they acted exactly the same. It was kind of cool. And Rick was yelling, 'What are you doing? Why are you doing it like this? We practiced this, we practiced this.' ''And Cory was sitting in the dugout and we were all laughing at Peterson. That's one thing I remember the most.'' REUTERS DH RAI0738