Michael Robert Coolbaugh (June 5, 1972 – July 22, 2007) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and coach. Born in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, he was the brother of major leaguer

Scott Coolbaugh Scott Robert Coolbaugh (born June 13, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1989 and 1994. He is the assistant hitting coach for ...

. Coolbaugh died after being hit by a line drive while working as a first-base coach in a minor league game.

Playing career

A 1990 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Coolbaugh was drafted by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the 16th round (433rd overall) of the 1990

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. Coolbaugh spent 11 seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

. He broke the Southern League record for runs batted in during a season. Coolbaugh never played for the Blue Jays, but was called up to the major leagues on July 15, 2001, while playing for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Triple-A affiliate

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. He played

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

with the

in 2001 and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

in 2002. Coolbaugh made 44 career appearances, mainly at third base or as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, hitting .183. In 2003, Coolbaugh traveled to Korea (as had his brother Scott) to play for the

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. That year he hit .215 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in 44 games. In 2004, he set a franchise record by hitting 30 home runs with the

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, an affiliate of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. In 2005, Coolbaugh was with the Astros' farm system and while playing for their Triple-A affiliate, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, had 27 home runs and 101 runs batted in. The Astros were prepared to bring him up to the major leagues until he suffered a broken bone in his left hand during a game. In 2006, he signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. However, during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, Coolbaugh shattered his left wrist, leading to his retirement as a player.

Coaching

Following his professional playing career, Coolbaugh turned to coaching. On July 3, 2007, he was hired as

first base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, the Double-A affiliate of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Death

On July 22, 2007, Coolbaugh was killed during the ninth inning of a game against the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas River, Arkansas from Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2 ...

, when a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

hit by Drillers catcher Tino Sanchez struck him in the neck while he was standing in the first base coach's box. The impact pulverized Coolbaugh's left

vertebral artery The vertebral arteries are major arteries An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry o ...

, which supplies significant parts of the brain with blood. The result, according to Pulaski County coroner Mark Malcolm, was a severe

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

essentially killing Coolbaugh on impact. Travelers general manager Pete Laven was among the first to reach Coolbaugh, along with Travelers team doctor James Bryan, team athletic trainer Brian Reinker and Gene France, a local doctor who was sitting near the first base dugout with his daughter and a family friend, both of whom are also physicians. France watched as Bryan administered

pain stimulus Pain stimulus is a technique used by medical personnel for assessing the consciousness level of a person who is not responding to normal interaction, voice commands or gentle physical stimuli (such as shaking of the shoulders). It forms one part ...

, applying pressure to various areas of Coolbaugh's body, all with no response.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

was administered to Coolbaugh on the field where he remained breathing until the ambulance reached the hospital. Coolbaugh was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m. CDT (0247 UTC, July 23), less than an hour after being struck with the line drive. The game, which the Travelers had been leading 7–3, was suspended. The next day,

president Tom Kayser declared the game to be a complete game. The Drillers and Travelers both postponed their game scheduled for the following night. After clinching the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Wild Card playoff berth during the

2007 Major League Baseball season The 2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which w ...

, the

announced the team players voted to award Coolbaugh's widow, Amanda, a full share of their playoff winnings. Rockies general manager

Dan O'Dowd Dan O'Dowd was the General Manager (baseball), General Manager of the Colorado Rockies from September 20, 1999 to October 8, 2014. Before being hired by the Rockies, he spent 15 years working for the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, workin ...

said, "when I heard about what the players did, I almost cried." As the Rockies made it to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, her share ended up being $233,505.18. On November 8, 2007, MLB general managers decided that all base coaches would wear

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

s starting with the upcoming 2008 season. Coolbaugh's life and death are the subject of a book by S. L. Price, titled ''Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America''.

Legacy

In his honor, the

established the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Coach of the Year Award in 2007 to honor the most outstanding hitting or

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in the league. The first recipient was his brother,

. In 2008, Minor League Baseball began presenting the annual

Mike Coolbaugh Award The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually by Minor League Baseball to recognize "an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field." It is usually awarde ...

to someone who has "shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field".

References

External links

Mike Coolbaugh – A Life in Baseball Remembered
– ''MLNSportsZone.com'' – August 2007
Double-A coach dies after being hit in head by ball
''ESPN.com''
Drillers coach struck by foul ball, killed
''MiLB.com''
Profile on ESPNCareer statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...