It brings a tragic end to his 10-year Major League Baseball career.
Police confirmed Lidle's death to ESPN shortly after his plane smashed into a high-rise.
Lidle, a descendant of steamboat inventor Robert Fulton, finished his career 82-72 with a 4.57 earned-run average.
He pitched for seven teams since making his 1997 major league debut and his death touched players and clubs, including the four remaining teams in the hunt for this season's World Series title.
"I wish I had the words. It's sadder than sad. There are no words for it," said Rick Peterson, the New York Mets pitching coach who guided Lidle with the Oakland A's in 2002.
"It's horrific. It's unbelievable. It's almost surreal this could happen."
Asked how he could go on in the wake of the tragedy, Mr Peterson said, "I wish I had an answer. It just goes to show how insignificant some of things are that we think are really significant."
The tragedy brought back memories from Yankees fans of Thurman Munson, who died in a plane crash on August 2, 1979, while practicing takeoffs and landings in a twin engine Cessna Citation jet at the Akron-Canton airport.
Lidle, 34, had started flying a plane just before the season began last April. He was survived by his wife Melanie and a six-year-old son, Christopher.
Lidle made his major league debut for the New York Mets in 1997. He went 7-2 in 54 appearances that season but played in only two major league games over the next two years.