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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 c ...

, he was the brother of major leaguer Scott Coolbaugh. 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

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

Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

. 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 Nort ...

. 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. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Triple-A affiliate

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

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

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

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

, hitting .183. In 2003, Coolbaugh traveled to Korea (as had his brother

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

) to play for the

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears () 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 play their home game ...

in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

. 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 or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

, an affiliate of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. However, during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Death

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

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

, 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 artery, arteries of the neck. Typically, the vertebral arteries originate from the subclavian arteries. Each vessel courses superiorly along each side of the neck, merging within the skull to form the single, m ...

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

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

killing Coolbaugh on impact; although, CPR kept him from passing. 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 used during Cardiac arrest, cardiac or Respiratory arrest, respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function ...

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 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

, 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 National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

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 ...

, 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 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). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, 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 protecti ...

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 decision ...

in the league. The first recipient was his brother, Scott Coolbaugh. In 2008,

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

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 awarded ...

to someone who has "shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field". On July 29, 2023, the Tulsa Drillers retired Coolbaugh’s number 29 in a pregame ceremony at ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa.

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; ) is the Sport governing body, 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 () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...