In a freak accident, the first base coach of the minor league Tulsa Drillers was killed on Sunday night after a line drive struck him in the head. The horrible mishap occurred in the ninth inning when Tino Sanchez hit a foul ball that went straight for coach Mike Coolbaugh as he stood by first base. Coolbaugh immediately fell to the ground after being hit in either the right side of his head or in the forehead. CPR was administered to Coolbaugh on the field and while he was alive inside of the ambulance, he died as the vehicle reached the hospital.
As horrific as this accident is, we’re surprised that this doesn’t happen more often. How many times have we seen pitchers get clobbered on a come back, only to eventually shake it off with minor injuries? It’s the single scariest, most sickening moment in sports to see a player get struck by a baseball. Unfortunately, there’s really nothing that can be done when dealing with split second reaction times. Although the incidents are unavoidable over time, all we can do is hope that something like this never happens again.
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.
Links:
[WISHTV.com]: Line Drive Kills Minor League Coach
[TulsaDrillers.com]: Tulsa Drillers Home