Former Brewer Mike Coolbaugh killed by line drive

[RyDogg66]

Yeah, he was a major leaguer for a year maybe, total. Minor league ball doesnt pay well at all. I hope his family gets lots of help.

[brettac1]

The thing that is good is that players now get a full pension as soon as they come to the bigs.

[PeaveyFury]

According to Minor League Baseball, Coolbaugh is the first player or coach to die as a result of on-the-field action since Winnipeg's Skeeter Ebnet was hit by a pitch in a 1938 Northern League game. Ebnet was the second minor leaguer to die in two years in the Northern League: George Tkach was hit by a pitch and killed in 1936.

 

So Mike was the first pro player/coach to die since the invention of the batting helmet? Wow.

[Mass Haas]

Coolbaugh clutch for '97 Stars

Late ballplayer had big season for entertaining team

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

Steve Connelly has an uncut sheet of 1997 Huntsville Stars trading cards in his downtown Huntsville office. It's a bit of memorabilia from his days as a Stars pitcher.

 

As he looked at those photos Monday, staring at him from the second row of cards was Mike Coolbaugh.

 

"It's hard to believe," Connelly said. "I think it's going to be one of those things that takes a long time for it to sink in."

 

The Stars' 1997 team still stands as the most prolific offensive team in league history, scoring 942 runs en route to a 77-62 record and a berth in the Southern League championship series.

 

D.T. Cromer had a team-record 176 hits. Mike Neill batted .340 and scored 129 runs. Ben Grieve would win the league MVP award with a .328 average, to go along with 24 homers and 100 RBIs. The team produced 2002 American League MVP Miguel Tejada.

 

But perhaps the most consistent of them all was their blue-collar third baseman, Mike Coolbaugh, who was already in his eighth season in minor league ball.

 

Coolbaugh was what people refer to as a "baseball lifer." On Sunday night, in a freak accident, baseball took his life.

 

He was coaching first base for the Tulsa Drillers of the Double-A Texas League, a team for which he had once played and which he joined on July 3 in his first stint as a professional coach.

 

Coolbaugh was struck in the head by a line drive from Tulsa DH Tino Sanchez in a game against the Arkansas Travelers in North Little Rock. He died an hour later in a Little Rock hospital. He was 35.

 

He leaves behind wife Mandy, who is expecting a child in October, and sons Joseph and Jacob.

 

"He was a good guy," said Connelly of his former teammate. "The thing I remember about Mike the most was when we were goofing around, doing our thing before a game, he was taking extra hitting or taking extra ground balls at third.

 

"He was the consummate professional. He took baseball seriously."

 

Connelly suggested that some of Coolbaugh's work ethic was fueled by a rivalry with his older brother, Scott, who broke into the majors in 1989. Said Connelly, "I think he had a chip on his shoulder to prove he was as good or better than his brother." Scott Coolbaugh is the hitting coach for Frisco, one of Tulsa's rivals in the Texas League.

 

"He loved the game," Connelly said. "He absolutely loved the game. Everybody would talk about what they're going to do when they got through playing. 'I think so-and-so will be an attorney, and so-and-so will do this.' Usually there's two or three guys on a team, after they're done, they're going to coach. Mike was one of those."

 

"On a team full of superstars, Coolbaugh was steady," recalled Steve Kornya, the Stars' broadcaster that season. "Neill or Grieve might get on a hot streak, but it seemed like every night he was 1-for-3 with an RBI, or 1-for-4 with a big homer.

 

"He was a guy who was never branded a top prospect, but he worked hard and did his best, put up good numbers and eventually made it to the majors."

 

"The biggest thing I remember about Mike was his determination," said former Stars general manager Bryan Dingo. "If I recall, he spent 10 years in the minors before he was ever called up (to the majors) but he had that determination to stick it out as long as he did."

 

Steve Kornya was the Stars' radio broadcaster that season, and recalls a player who was "very driven to go up to the majors. He was quiet, very workmanlike. He came to the ballpark and did his job."

 

Coolbaugh batted .308, with 30 homers, 37 doubles and 132 RBIs that season.

 

He owns the team record for most at-bats (579) and total bases (303) in a season and co-owns the RBI record with ex-major league all-star Terry Steinbach. His 30 homers are second only to Rob Nelson's mark of 32, set in 1985. His batting average is fifth-best in team history.

 

For his minor league career, he finished with 258 homers, 1,007 RBIs and a .266 average. He had been drafted originally by Toronto, in the 16th round in 1990, and played in the Texas, Oakland, Colorado, Yankees, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Houston and Kansas City organizations.

 

He made his major league debut on July 16, 2001, in Milwaukee, singling off White Sox pitcher Wayne Garland in his first at-bat.

 

The next day, entering as a late defensive replacement, he homered off Garland for the first of his two big-league homers.

 

"Mike was a kind and hard-working individual who lived life and played the game with great passion. He will be greatly missed," said Reid Nichols, Milwaukee's director of player development, in a statement.

 

Rockies president Keli McGregor issued a statement saying, "Our entire organization grieves at the death of Mike Coolbaugh. We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the accident on Sunday evening. Mike was a great husband, father, brother and friend to so many throughout the baseball community."

 

Despite their close proximity to the batter, base coaches do not wear protective equipment. Don Mincher, the president of the Southern League, who was the Stars' owner when Coolbaugh played here, expects that may change. He predicted it would be a major topic in the Minor League Baseball meetings this winter.

 

"Can this lead to coaches wearing helmets in the future? Yes," said Mincher. "It'll be groaned about and moaned about in the process, but eventually I think it will be forced."

 

The Tulsa Drillers have established a memorial fund for Coolbaugh to benefit his family. Checks may be made to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund, c/o Spirit Bank, 1800 S. Baltimore St., Tulsa, OK 74119.

 

The Huntsville Stars announced Monday that contributions toward that fund will be collected at the main gates during each of the five games in the homestand against Chattanooga, which begins Saturday.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

TRAGIC DEATH OF FORMER STAR PUTS GAME IN PERSPECTIVE

In 1997, Mike Coolbaugh hit .308 with 30 home runs and 132 RBIs, setting club records that year for the Stars that still exist: at bats (559), total bases (303), as well as tying the RBI record. He was a consistent threat at the plate all season. Starting with the first series of the year, when he went 8-for-15 with two HRs and five RBIs vs. Jacksonville, he never let his average slip under .283, which came after a 1-for-15 slump in late April-early May........ He got his average up to .317 after a 4-for-4 day against Knoxville on May 8, and it never dropped below .300 the rest of the season. Despite a two HR, seven RBI performance against Greenville in Game 3 of the Southern League Championship Series, however, he was 0-for-13 in the other four games, as the Stars lost the championship to the Braves in 5 games.

 

Coolbaugh made his mark with the 1997 Stars, though, as they set team records, still unbroken, in runs scored (942), hits (1,380), total bases (2,221), RBIs (871), doubles (281), and home runs (164)....... On the all-time list, he's in a 9th place tie in HRs with Scott Brosius and Steve Howard, 12th in RBIs, 5th in batting, and tops in slugging (.542).

 

Coolbaugh, whose brother Scott is also a Texas League hitting coach with the Frisco Roughriders, spent most of his 17-year career in the minors, appearing in 39 games for the Brewers in 2001 and 5 games for the Cardinals in 2002......... The two Coolbaughs got to play against each other for the first time on June 19, 1997, during a series at Joe Davis Stadium against the Birmingham Barons. ........

 

Coolbaugh wore #32 for the Stars, a number not in current use, but I suggested to the team office about retiring it, and painting the number on the outfield wall in remembrance.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...for+Power/

 

Coach's death is a tragic reminder for Power

Michael Dailey

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

Before every West Virginia Power home game, public address announcer Don Cook makes the following announcement to those gathering inside Appalachian Power Park:

 

"In the interest of safety, your attention is drawn to the following:

 

"Everyone in Appalachian Power Park is subject to the possibility of being hit by a flying object from the field. Batted balls, wildly thrown balls, thrown or broken bats or even donuts swinging off the ends of warm up bats, could make their way into the stadium seats.

 

"Baseball is an inherently dangerous game. You should, for your own safety, watch the game closely and be attentive to matters on the playing field at all times. With these warnings in mind, we hope you enjoy the game in a safe atmosphere."

 

It's a simple statement, directed at fans, that is meant to raise awareness of the many dangers surrounding a professional baseball game.

 

Most fans shrug off the announcement or fail to hear it altogether.

 

But the people on the diamond are well aware of the game's unavoidable dangers.

 

That danger level was brought to the forefront of both players and fans on Sunday night, with the tragic death of Tulsa Drillers first base coach Mike Coolbaugh.

 

Coolbaugh, 35, died shortly after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Tulsa's Tino Sanchez in the ninth inning of a Class AA Texas League game at Arkansas.

 

Coolbaugh, a former Major Leaguer with St. Louis and Milwaukee, was honored with a moment of silence before Monday's South Atlantic League game between the Power and Delmarva Shorebirds.

 

But for players and coaches both on the field and in the dugout, the thought of just how Coolbaugh died, lingered long after the silent remembrance.

 

"It was definitely on my mind," said injured Power infielder Jimmy Mojica, who coached first base Monday in the Power's sixth consecutive loss, a 6-1 defeat. "Especially with a lefty hitting, I've got to be aware of that from now on.

 

"Now that I'm hurt, I've been spending more time out there and I've had a few close calls. When there's a man on first and second and I've got to watch for the first baseman, that's when I get a little nervous."

 

"I'm sad that it happened," added Mojica, who became acquainted with Coolbaugh when he was in the Brewers' system.

 

"I knew the guy. He was a good guy. Anytime a baseball player dies or anyone that you know, it's always sad."

 

Power Manager Mike Guerrero faces the danger even more often than Mojica.

 

As the Power's third base coach, Guerrero spends half of each game 90 feet or closer to home plate.

 

"You're vulnerable at times," Guerrero said. "You want to be in a position to see the ball when it's hit, but at times, you don't see it and you don't even have a chance to react.

 

"At times we stray closer than 85 feet away, those are chances that you take. When you're out there you better be paying attention. You see people here getting hammered in the stands sometimes. If you're not paying attention, you won't have time to react.

 

"That's just the way it is. You just take your chances when you go out there every night."

 

Delmarva Manager and third base coach Gary Kendall also feels in the line of fire at times.

 

"It's something that you're aware of," Kendall said.

 

"They have coach's boxes out there and they're roughly 85 to 90 feet away, but sometimes when you get runners on base and you're trying to get an angle on a middle infielder, you cheat up a little bit.

 

"When you do that, you worry because your back is to the hitter sometimes. It runs through your mind every once in a while, but you never think of something so tragic to happen.

 

"I've had a few close calls and I've gotten hit a few times. Actually, I got hit more when I was coaching first than at third. It can definitely happen just because of the hook spin on the ball. You're first reaction is to move get out of the way, but the ball just goes along with you.

 

"I didn't find out until I was eating lunch today and I was kind of taken aback by it. It really bothers you that it took the life of somebody. It's really sad."

 

Power pitching coach John Curtis suffered a debilitating head injury himself during a batting practice incident in 2005.

 

Curtis was struck in the back of head by a line drive off the bat of Alcides Escobar, after straying too far from behind a protective "shag screen" at the edge of the outfield grass behind second base, while hitting fly balls to outfielders.

 

Curtis, who never lost consciousness after the incident, did suffer some stroke-like symptoms with some paralysis to his left hand and lower arm.

 

Learning of Coolbaugh's fate made Curtis realize just how lucky he was.

 

"I still consider myself terribly lucky," Curtis said. "It makes you realize, like with foul balls in the stands here, just how quickly that ball can get on top of you.

 

"When I first heard about it, one of the first things I thought about was how lucky I was. I can certainly understand how it could happen. But this is just a tragic incident where the odds were so overwhelmingly against it.

 

"It's a real tragedy."

 

Curtis also wondered about Sanchez's mental state after his liner his Coolbaugh.

 

"When Escobar hit me, he was in tears," Curtis said. "He asked to opt out of the game, he was so torn up.

 

"This kid (Sanchez) is probably really having a tough time right now."

 

A professional dugout is also a danger zone when the ball is in play.

 

"There was about a one month stretch when I was just like a ball magnet," Power catcher Andy Bouchie said of the dangers in the dugout.

 

"One of our pitchers (Omar Aguilar) got hit yesterday. Luckily, it wasn't anything serious. There was a foul ball hit hard into the dugout and he just warded it off with his hand. You've got to pay attention all the time.

 

"The key is just to stay awake, stay alert and not be afraid of it."

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Tom Hindman

West Virginia Power Manager Mike Guerrero stays alert for foul balls when he stands in the third base coach?s box.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/0724guerrero.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Base coaches keep their eyes open

Sounds haven't taken any extra precautions

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Andy Abad was back in the first-base coaching box for the Nashville Sounds for Tuesday night's contest against visiting Fresno.

 

Abad, one of the players who regularly fills that position for the Sounds, didn't take any extra precautions following the death last Sunday of Tulsa Drillers first base coach Mike Coolbaugh after he was struck in the head by a line drive.

 

Coolbaugh, a longtime minor league third baseman who played 44 major league games, had recently become a coach with the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

 

"I hope they don't go to where you have to go with a helmet," Abad said. "It's just one of those things. I don't know what precautions you can take. Those things happen."

 

Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas, who coaches third base, said he's been hit by thrown balls when coaching at first base ? but never by a batted ball.

 

"I was like, 'I wonder what he (Coolbaugh) was doing'," Kremblas said. "Was he watching for a pickoff? He'd just started coaching; you tend to be a little less aware than if you've been there for a while.

 

"I didn't see it. If I saw it, I could probably say 'I know what he was thinking there.' "

 

While it's rare that a base coach gets hit, it does occur.

 

"I've heard of guys getting hit ? getting hit and getting hurt," said Sounds hitting coach Harry Spilman, who served in that same role with Round Rock, Houston's Triple-A affiliate, when Coolbaugh played there in 2005. "But I don't think I've ever heard of someone getting hit hard enough to get killed. It's just a freak thing.

 

"(But) that ball gets on you in a hurry. I think the average fan doesn't realize how quick it gets on you. We've all been there; it seems like the ball keeps coming at you and you can't get out of the way of it."

 

Coach wears headgear

 

Colorado first-base coach Glenallen Hill has opted for the headgear. Hill donned a catcher's helmet ? similar to a batting helmet, but without the protective earflaps ? for Monday's game against San Diego.

 

"We are watching the ball being pitched, watching the ball being hit," Hill, a former major league outfielder, told rockies.com. "We pay attention to the defensive alignment, all sorts of things. There's a lot of information and focus that goes on when a guy has a lead at first base and you're watching the pitcher's move, and he delivers that ball.

 

"We just turn our heads, and in that split-second, that line drive most of the time just misses you. (But) if a guy squares up a ball and it's at you, you're getting hit. There's just no way around it."

 

Hill told The Associated Press that he always appreciates it when batters reach first base and hand over their body armor: "I strap the stuff on."

 

New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre said every base coach in baseball should wear a helmet.

 

"I don't think there's any question. A lot of times coaches scare you, because some of them won't even watch the hitter, because they're trying to help the runner. So I don't think that's a bad idea at all," Torre told The Associated Press.

 

A moment of silence was observed prior to the Sounds game, and flags flew at half-staff in memory of Coolbaugh.

[RyDogg66]

Cause of death appears to be a ruptured artery in the neck. Apparently that is where he was hit, not the head.

 

sports.espn.go.com/minorl...id=2948605