Cory Lidle played his first and only post-season game against the Detroit Tigers during Game Four of the 2006 American League Division Series on Saturday. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Cory Lidle may have been an average starting pitcher during his nine-year major league career — but the New York Yankee's sudden death on Wednesday has shaken the baseball world.

Lidle, a former Toronto Blue Jay, was flying his small plane over Manhattan before he crashed into a 40-story apartment building in the Upper East Side, killing himself and his flight instructor.

The right-hander, who was married and had a son, only received his pilot's licence less than a year ago and was looking forward to an off-season of flying, friends said.

"He was absolutely mesmerized by the idea of becoming a pilot," Scott Graham, a Philadelphia Phillies announcer and friend, told CNN. "He wasn't just interested in doing it well, but he wanted to do it safely."

Lidle, 34, recently pitched for the Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, allowing three runs in 1 1/3 innings of work.

The Yankees were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers in four games on Saturday, officially giving Lidle time to purse his second love.

The circumstances surrounding Lidle's death will no doubt evoke comparisons to the 1979 plane crash that claimed the life of former Yankee catching great Thurman Munson.

Munson was practising takeoffs and landings in his new jet when his plane clipped a tree before falling short of the runway in his hometown of Canton, Ohio.

But Lidle's baseball career hardly held the pedigree or impact of Munson's.

Born in Hollywood, Calif., Lidle graduated from South Hills High School in 1990 with former Yankee teammate Jason Giambi and was selected to the all-state team.

Even with his impressive high school resumé, Lidle failed to garner any interest from major league teams.

He was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Minnesota Twins following graduation and appeared headed for a life in the minors after becoming a replacement player during the 1995 baseball strike.

Despite the unavoidable label of a baseball outcast as a result of the strike, Lidle endured.

The New York Mets acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers a year later with the Lidle making his major-league debut in 1997.

Though Lidle went 7-2 that season with a respectable 3.53 ERA, he couldn't find a home in the Mets' rotation.

He was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay in 1998 and spent two uneventful seasons (1999-2000) with the Devil Rays before the Oakland A's rescued his career.

Lidle experienced his best season with the A's, winning 13 games and only losing six.

As a player Lidle didn't have overwhelming skills. He didn't posses a blazing fastball or a knee-buckling curve, but scouts said he made up for his shortcomings with raw determination.

"Cory Lidle was a very hard worker and was very competitive," said Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, who coached Lidle in Oakland. "I always felt like he wanted the ball in big situations."

Lidle's teammates described him as bright, friendly and intelligent.

"He was always smiling, he was a happy-go-lucky guy, who wanted to learn," said former teammate John Franco.

"He was just a great guy, just a pleasant guy to be around, pleasant guy to talk to," said Yankees teammate Andy Phillips.

Lidle also had a well-documented sweet tooth, munching on junk food in the dugout during games. After he pitched his first game for the Yankees, Lidle returned to his locker to find it littered ice-cream sandwiches.

"We would call him 'Snacks' because he would eat Reese's between innings when he was pitching," former Oakland teammate Barry Zito said. "He'd have Whoppers, ice cream, all while throwing eight scoreless innings."

While popular with his teammates, Lidle's wasn't afraid to make enemies and speak his mind.

He openly chastised San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, saying his home run records weren't "legitimate," and questioned his former Phillies teammates after being traded to the Yankees, saying he had doubts about whether they were committed to playing winning baseball in Philadelphia.

"Definitely a free spirit," said former Oakland teammate Eric Chavez. "He was gutsy, very outspoken."

Lidle's time in Oakland led to a trade that brought the right-hander to Toronto in November of 2002 with the strong support of the Blue Jays general manager, J. P. Ricciardi.

Ricciardi was impressed with Lidle when both men were in Oakland and felt his new hurler could be a great influence on Toronto's young pitching staff.

Lidle finished the year 12-15 with the Jays in 2003, but left to sign a free-agent deal with Cincinnati the following year. His time in Cincinnati was brief, however, as the Reds shipped him to Philadelphia following a 7-10 record.

After two-plus seasons with the Phillies, where he won 26 games, Lidle was part of the trade to New York that also saw outfielder Bobby Abreu arrive in the Big Apple.

Lidle's outing against the Tigers on Saturday would be the lone post-season appearance of his career.

While Liddle's statistics — he was 82-72 with a 4.57 ERA — suggest inconsistent performances, his teammates would argue the California native left an indelible mark in far more important areas.

"Right now, I am really in a state of shock, as I am sure the entire MLB family is," Giambi said in a statement.

"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 [Christopher] 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."