Rockies Minor League coach struck in head - dies!!!

[TR3Y]

DAMN!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=2945798

1st base coach dies after getting a line drive to the head :eek:

Sorry if this has already been posted - I looked and didn't see anything anywhere....

Poor guy and his family :sad:

R.I.P.

[Snapping Turtle]

That sucks SO much. :(

[BroncoAV06]

Definitly a sad story. I saw it scroll across on the bottom line and couldn't belive it. Weird things happen, life has it way to end things.

[SmithOverTO]

Terrible tragedy. I feel horrible for his family. :sad:

[keithbishop]

Terrible news. My prayers and condolences go to his family.

[Denver Native]

Very sad story - my prayers for his family.

[Calif. Bronco]

For years I have heard Vin Scully say that coaches and base umpires are the most vulnerable people on the field. This tragedy just brings the point home - what a shame!

[Snapping Turtle]

There was a moment of silence for him at the game tonight. Its so sad.

Glenallen Hill was also wearing a helmet whole coaching 1st. Maybe he always did and I never noticed though, or maybe he wasn't. Looked like it from where I was.


Its really sad :(

[stnzed]

This is unbelievable...

Imagine how the dude that hit him feels....

[sneakers]

He wasn't in the majors long, but he made his debut as a Brewer.

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/brew/img/jul07/scoolbaugh723.jpg

Here is a story about him in the Milwaukee newspaper:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=636593

Coolbaugh lived his dream

Ex-Brewer dies after being hit by line drive

By TOM HAUDRICOURT
thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com
Posted: July 23, 2007

Cincinnati - Geoff Jenkins and Ben Sheets, the only two players on the Milwaukee Brewers' current roster who played for the team in 2001, remembered how excited Mike Coolbaugh was to get to the major leagues that July after spending 12 years in the minor leagues.

"There was a lot of perseverance in him," recalled Jenkins. "I remember how proud we were for him that he finally made it."

Jenkins, Sheets, the rest of the Brewers and all of baseball were stunned and saddened to learn of the death of Coolbaugh, 35, who was struck in the head by a line drive Sunday while coaching first base for the Class A Tulsa Drillers in a Texas League game in Little Rock, Ark. Coolbaugh was hit by a foul line drive off the bat of Tino Sanchez and was pronounced dead later at a local hospital.

That game was suspended in the ninth inning after Coolbaugh was struck. The Drillers, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, postponed their game Monday night against the Wichita Wranglers.

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.

"I remember him hitting a couple of bombs for us," Sheets said. "He was excited to be here. We were all excited for him."

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."

Coolbaugh played only five more games in the majors in 2002 for St. Louis. He returned to the minors and continued playing until retiring after the 2006 season. He had recently taken the job as coach for Tulsa at the urging of his sons, Joseph, 5, and Jacob, 3.

Coolbaugh also is survived by wife Amanda, expecting their third child in October.

"We were going to be done with it, but his kids wanted to see him (coach)," Amanda Coolbaugh said. "You couldn't have asked for a better father. He just paid attention to the boys, put them in clubs and sports . . . volunteered time on their teams."

Coolbaugh played for the Brewers before Reid Nichols became farm director in 2003 but played in the Texas system when Nichols worked for that club.

"Mike was a kind and hard-working individual who lived life and played the game with great passion," Nichols said. "He will be greatly missed."

According to a report on the Drillers' Web site late Sunday, Coolbaugh was knocked unconscious and CPR was administered to him on the field. Sgt. Terry Kuykendall, spokesman for North Little Rock police, said Coolbaugh stopped breathing as his ambulance arrived at the hospital.

The Drillers made immediate plans to start a memorial fund for the Coolbaugh children, with information on the team's Web site, www.tulsadrillers.com. Jenkins said he hoped to organize a team contribution from the Brewers to the family as well.

Coolbaugh was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round in 1990. Coolbaugh's older brother, Scott, also played 167 major-league games over parts of four seasons with Texas, San Diego and St. Louis in the early 1990s.

[HuskerBronco7]

:(


Thats Horrible, my prayers to his family