Jul 23 2007
Killed in the Line of - Baseball?
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NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh died after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach’s box during a game.
The Texas League game was suspended in the ninth inning Sunday after the 35-year-old former major leaguer was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Tino Sanchez of the Arkansas Travelers. Coolbaugh was taken to Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead.
“It’s a tragedy for all of baseball,” Drillers president Chuck Lamson told the Tulsa World in a story posted on the newspaper’s Web site early Monday. “He just joined the staff and was a former Driller player. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”
I’m not a baseball fan in the least, but I must confess, after reading this article I kind of want to go watch a game now. I never realized it could get so violent and exciting! Hockey and Football are the only sports I’ll tune in for semi-regularly and I certainly don’t recall boring baseball games being this interesting. Maybe they’ve changed or it was just a fluke?
Somewhat grim that you find this tragedy exciting. A number of first and third base coaches have started wearing helmets as a result of this.
Somewhat sad that you can’t look for the humor in situations. There are a great many tragedies in life, if you always address them with a stoic facade then you’re only hurting yourself.