That's just awful.

R.I.P.

God Bless.

I would change the team's name . . . from the "Drillers"? Wow. Awful.

What a horrible thing. I wonder if this will lead to base coaches wearing helmets. There's really no good reason not to.

Before long, all coaches and defensive players will be dressing like John Olerud. Pitchers' helmets will include masks like catchers wear.

How awful for Tino Sanchez.

He must have been distracted to have gotten hit in the head without being able to get his hands up or to duck. Poor guy.

Coolbaugh is survived by his wife, Mandy, and two young sons, Joseph and Jacob, all of San Antonio.
Mandy Coolbaugh is expecting another child in October.

Wow just wow ..

RIP

In my daughter's fast pitch softball league (12 and under) some teams have their pitcher and 3rd baseman where helmets with face guards. We don't. I asked one coach about it and he said they can be made of very light material so they don't get too sweaty or uncomfortable.

"I wonder if this will lead to base coaches wearing helmets. There's really no good reason not to."

Not a bad idea.

I hope they do something for his family. He's probably got a pension, but still...

This is unbelievable. Terrible news, and he had just taken the job recently (beginning of the month).

How terrible, not just for the Coolbaugh family, the Drillers, the Rangers organization, or for Sanchez, but also for baseball in general.

It headlined our sports section here this morning. Terrible, terrible thing that happened. Final inning, and last game of the series at Dickey-Stephens, too. My deepest condolences to his family.

What an awful thing to happen.

I first heard of him back in 2001, when Coolbaugh was called up by the Brewers. There was a syndicated article about him in the local paper (in Hong Kong, of all places) talking about how he was a career minor leaguer but he'd finally got his chance at 29. I was so pleased for him - imagine how often he thought he'd never get a chance in the big leagues - and rooted for him at Milwaukee and the following year at St Louis. I just looked at his B-R Page last week.

And now this. Rest in Peace Mike.

I'm always afraid that someone in the on-deck circle is going to be seriously injured by a foul ball one of these days.

I remember when Coolbaugh was on the Indianapolis Indians. He was the fan favorite on the team, even when they had better players. The city of Indy loved him. When they held the AAA All-Star game, and he was the Indians rep, he got the largest ovation out of anyone. No small feat considering that Adam Dunn was in the game. But, ever since then, I've been following him.

The ironic part was that he was the interim hitting coach; Orlando Merced, who had the job, resigned on July 3.

R.I.P.

I agree with the sentiment about Tino Sanchez. That's just awful for him. Well, it's awful all around, but the Sanchez aspect is tough to contemplate.

I agree with the sentiment about Tino Sanchez. That's just awful for him. Well, it's awful all around, but the Sanchez aspect is tough to contemplate.

Espen Knutsen was the player in the NHL whose deflected shot killed the little girl in the crowd. That pretty much ended his career because he couldn't get over the guilt and was a changed player. Hopefully Mr. Sanchez will have a better outcome.

Espen Knutsen was the player in the NHL whose deflected shot killed the little girl in the crowd. That pretty much ended his career because he couldn't get over the guilt and was a changed player.

That may be partially true, but injuries were a more direct cause of the end of Knutsen's career. He had pretty substantial injuries to his hip flexor, wrist, and groin all within a year or so.

None of which is meant to diminish the effect the incident had on Knutsen...he appeared to have a really difficult time dealing with it, as you might imagine.

It headlined our sports section here this morning. Terrible, terrible thing that happened. Final inning, and last game of the series at Dickey-Stephens, too. My deepest condolences to his family.

Did it not make 1A? I know Griffin is clueless (probably he's unacquainted with the concept of baseball, just like in the '90s he was unacquainted with the concept of the Jetsons), but still ...

The tragedy is now front and center on the MILB.com home page, and the box score of the game is headlined "Suspended: Tragedy".

The Drillers' own site says that tonight's game has been postponed, and it gives the address of a memorial fund for Coolbaugh's wife and kids.

Only incident I've seen like this this was in the minor leagues - Triple-A. The right-fielder (I think Craig Landis) ran into the first-base wall -- actually a fence -- chasing a fly and was down for a while. Local fire and EMTs treated him on the field, and the game was delayed until they took him out on a stretcher.

R.I.P., Mike.

From BPro, Goldstein:

The Tulsa Drillers and a local bank have set up a memorial fund to benefit the Coolbaugh family. Checks can be made payable to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund and sent to:

Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund
c/o Spirit Bank
1800 S. Baltimore Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74119

That is also in the link #22

Only incident I've seen like this this was in the minor leagues - Triple-A.

See, also, "A Prayer for Owen Meaney" by John Irving. Chapter One or Two, I think.

It headlined our sports section here this morning. Terrible, terrible thing that happened. Final inning, and last game of the series at Dickey-Stephens, too. My deepest condolences to his family.

Did it not make 1A?

I was distressed to see that it was buried inside the sports sections of both Seattle papers. The poor widow and children. Hopefully, this fund and players and organizations from MLB will keep them secure.

Does it really make sense to not make changes until after an incident we all knew could happen? Either they should be wearing protection because it could happen, or they shouldn't because the rarity shows that it's more likely a coach will be struck by lightning than be killed like this.

I think people in the front-row seats at games these days are more likely to get clobbered by a ball or a bat. They are often not paying attention to the game.

I wonder if #12 and #7 above are somehow related. Just horrible. My condolences to the family.

Does anyone know any of the details? The poor guy was only 35, (and a former ballplayer) he must have had some decent reflexes. Was he not paying attention?

Not trying to blame him, it is just weird.

Coolbaugh, 35, made his Major League debut with the Brewers on July 16, 2001 after playing parts of 12 seasons in the Minor Leagues.

"I remember that being a really big deal," said Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets, a rookie in 2001. "I think we were all excited for him."

Outfielder Geoff Jenkins is the only other current Brewer who was with the team in 2001. Former teammate Brooks Kieschnick called Sunday night to pass the news to Jenkins, who had similarly fond memories of Coolbaugh.

"I remember him as a guy who played 10-plus years to get to the Major Leagues, and that takes some perseverance," Jenkins said. "You always hear people make the statement that, 'He died doing what he loved.' But to die coaching first base? Just doesn't seem right. I don't even have any words for it. I can't believe it happened."
...
"What a hard worker," said Brewers hitting coach Jim Skaalen, who was Milwaukee's roving hitting coach in 2001 and got to know Coolbaugh...
"He was labeled one of those 'Four-A' players but he was never bitter about it. Some of those up and down players have a lot of bitterness, but it was nothing but positive energy every day from him. It brought a tear to my eye when I saw the news this morning."

MLB.com

So sad, his poor kids and wife.

My god

MIL Journal-Sentinel: Coolbaugh lived his dream

Coolbaugh was so excited about finally getting his chance to play in the majors for the Brewers that he reported to the ballpark at 7 a.m. for a day game on July 16. He played 39 games with Milwaukee that season, batting .200 with two homers and seven RBI.
...
In a Journal Sentinel interview the day he reported to the Brewers, Coolbaugh talked about getting the news from Class AAA Indianapolis manager Wendell Kim.

"I couldn't breathe for, like, five minutes," he said. "I asked, 'Are you serious?' I couldn't believe it."

Original 2001 Journal-Sentinel article:
It's better late than never: Coolbaugh's major-league dream finally comes true

The only frustration Coolbaugh experienced on his big day was trying to contact his parents, who were visiting relatives in upstate New York. They didn't have their cell phones activated, so the excited Coolbaugh was forced to leave messages.

"My parents still don't know," he said. "But my wife (Amanda) was visiting her sister in Chicago, so she's coming here."

Coolbaugh isn't exactly sure where he ranks among those who have played the most games in the minors before getting that first big-league assignment.

"I'm sure I'm in the top 10," he said confidently.

Only incident I've seen like this this was in the minor leagues - Triple-A. The right-fielder (I think Craig Landis) ran into the first-base wall -- actually a fence -- chasing a fly and was down for a while. Local fire and EMTs treated him on the field, and the game was delayed until they took him out on a stretcher.

I actually played in a game -- I was 16 at the time -- where our second baseman had to be airlifted off the baseball field and rushed to a hospital to have emergency brain surgery performed after he took a knee to the head during a collision with our right fielder.

Either they should be wearing protection because it could happen, or they shouldn't because the rarity shows that it's more likely a coach will be struck by lightning than be killed like this.

Just out of morbid curiosity -- & (god knows) not to divert the focus from the horrible accident in North Little Rock -- does anyone know of any such instances?

(Apologies if this has already been addressed ... I'm not really awake, the homemade frappucino lurking dangerously near my keyboard [whose immediate predecessor perished in an unforunate spillage of same, come to think of it] notwithstanding.)

"Just out of morbid curiosity -- & (god knows) not to divert the focus from the horrible accident in North Little Rock -- does anyone know of any such instances?"

According to BaseballLibrary.com: "Jul 17, 1914 - At Forbes Field‚ Rube Marquard and Babe Adams each go a marathon 21 innings before Larry Doyle's 2-run HR gives the Giants a 3-1 win over the Pirates. Adams yields no walks and 12 hits‚ the longest non-walk game in ML history. Marquard walks 2 (one intentional) and yields 15 hits. In the 6th‚ Honus Wagner goes from first to 3B on a hit by Jim Viox. When New York CF Bob Bescher throws to 3B Milt Stock‚ the ball bounces out of his hands and disappears. Wagner scores before it's discovered that the ball bounced up under his arm and stayed there as he ran home. Wagner is called out for interference‚ and the Bucs protest. Manager Clarke is then ejected by umpire Bill "Lord" Byron. In a fitting ending to this unusual game‚ Giants OF Red Murray is knocked unconscious by a bolt of lightning after catching a fly ball for the final out. Murray is uninjured. Marquard's win is his last in 1914. He will lose 10 straight on his way to a 12-22 record."

That also gets my vote for the coolest game ever. It's got more-than-double-length extra innings, a double complete game, an obscure record, two ejections, a fluke play at a pivotal moment, and an act of God to end it.