Baseball tragedy

[LittleBrownCat]

I've watched plenty of baseball games (Go Sox!) and I've seen some nasty stuff--Damon & Jackson collide in outfield, Damon gets concussion; pitcher Clement gets hit by line drive (but walks away from it :eek: ), Ortiz (accidently) hurls bat into stands (no one gets hurt :eek: , did see someone get hurt by this at a local minor league game) but I've never heard of this happening:

Minor league coach dies after being hit
/ Associated Press
Posted: 5 hours ago
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."
Travelers spokesman Phil Elson said Coolbaugh was either hit on the right side of his head or on the forehead and fell to the ground immediately. 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 was still alive when he was put in an ambulance, but stopped breathing as the ambulance arrived at the hospital.
"They tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.," Kuykendall said.
Coolbaugh played 44 games in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers over two seasons. Coolbaugh joined the Tulsa staff on July 3 as a batting coach. He played for the team briefly in 1996.
Tulsa is the Colorado Rockies' Double-A affiliate.
Drillers first basemen Aaron Rifkin said recently that Coolbaugh's coaching style had already helped the team.
"He came in and didn't try to change guys, just fine-tune what they were doing. He's been great for me," Rifkin told the Tulsa World.
A native of Binghamton, N.Y., Coolbaugh went to high school in San Antonio and was drafted in 1990 by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round.
He played third base and bounced around the minors for a decade, before reaching the major leagues for the first time with in 2001 with the Brewers. He played 39 big league games that season and five for the Cardinals in 2002. He hit two home runs in 70 major league at-bats.
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.
The Travelers, an Angels affiliate, led 7-3 at the time the game was suspended with no outs and a runner on first in the top of the ninth inning. Officials said a date and time for finishing the game had not yet been chosen.
Coolbaugh is survived by his wife, Mandy, and two young sons, Joseph and Jacob, all of San Antonio. Mandy Coolbaugh is expecting another child in October.


As bad as I feel for that man's wife, I also feel pretty bad for the player who hit the ball that killed him. How awful must he feel?

[jmarie]

I read this earlier today. None of us have any idea when our end will come. This is SO sad.:(

[badunnin]

Every now and again there are hockey deaths. A few years ago in Columbus, OH a little girl of about 8? 9? was hit by an errant puck that flew up into the stands (happens ALL the time - there are always warnings to watch for flying pucks) and died. You hear about them more at the lower levels, and it's always sobering.

[jmarie]

happens ALL the time - there are always warnings to watch for flying pucks) and died.

Is this possible...I mean..to watch for a flying puck? It would seem to be that they would be travelling at such a high rate of speed...kind of like, could this guy have missed this ball even if he had tried?

Just wondering, since I have never been to a hockey game.

[badunnin]

Is this possible...I mean..to watch for a flying puck? It would seem to be that they would be travelling at such a high rate of speed...kind of like, could this guy have missed this ball even if he had tried?

Just wondering, since I have never been to a hockey game.


Nah, not hard at all to watch for. Same as seeing a fly ball at a baseball game that is hit into the stands. You see them leave the ice, fly in your direction, and you duck and/or try to catch it.

[Robyn1007]

Nah, not hard at all to watch for. Same as seeing a fly ball at a baseball game that is hit into the stands. You see them leave the ice, fly in your direction, and you duck and/or try to catch it.

I actually think they are a bit easier to watch for than a baseball, my eye tracks black much better than white.

This is very sad, I can only imagine what the poor player who hit the ball feels like. :(

[jabelt]

I can completely relate! Last June a 13 year old boy playing organized ball in a field just a couple of blocks from my house was hit in the chest with a line drive. The timing of the hit was in the split second between his heart beat, causing his heart to stop. He was finally revived after 15 minutes and spent 8 months in the hospital. He still cannot walk or talk. It was completely devastating for his family, and like you, I'm sure that the child on the other end was probably beside himself. My heart totally goes out for both families. For what it's worth, NJ is now trying to ban metal bats which they believe was a contributing factor.

[do-lolly]

I've never understood why little league organizations do not make the chest protection manditory for pitchers. Being hit in the chest is a way that a lot of baseball deaths occur. I also don't know why they don't make them wear cages on their helmet either. They do it here in t-ball, coach pitch and minor league, but the upper league are not required to have them. The upper leagues are where the balls are flying the fastest. :confused: Go figure.

[lisas3575]

Jabelt, there was just an article in our local paper about that family their efforts and the controversy it's caused.

My senior year of high school a classmate was hit in the forehead by a line drive during warmup for the state championship game. Thankfully he only had a concussion, major swelling and the worst shiners I have ever seen, before or since. That poor coach and his family, as well as the player. :( I can't even imagine.

[Jessnc]

What a sad, tragic story. Such a young guy with a seemingly bright future ahead of him. I feel just awful for his wife and the little ones.

At a track meet, when I was in high school, I saw a guy get hit with a discus right in the chest. It was travelling very past and it went foul and he was standing right by the foul line. I saw someone administering CPR, and eventually he was taken away by ambulance, but I don't know what ever became of that man. Hopefully he ended up alright. At a different track meet I saw a javelin go right through someone's pant leg. Luckily it didn't strike their leg. Sports are fun, but they certainly have their hazards.

[sararosalie]

This was a huge shock for us. Coolbaugh played for about 2 seasons with our local AAA team. We saw him play dozens of times. It makes you realize how quickly things can change. My heart goes out to his family and the poor young man who hit the ball.

[Robyncz]

Sara,
Did you see the article about him in the Austin American Statesman today? It was nicely done, I thought.

[tea4one]

I read this earlier but never posted anything about it. I thought it was sad and also thought about the person who hit the ball. I can't even imagine what either the family or the guy that hit that ball are going through right now.

[ClaraB]

I've never understood why little league organizations do not make the chest protection manditory for pitchers. Being hit in the chest is a way that a lot of baseball deaths occur. I would think it would be very difficult to pitch well with a chest protector on. And frankly, how many baseball deaths are there in a year?

[do-lolly]

I would think it would be very difficult to pitch well with a chest protector on. And frankly, how many baseball deaths are there in a year?

I looked it up. This is from Virginia University:
baseball and softball
Nearly 108,300 children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for baseball-related injuries. Baseball also has the highest fatality rate among sports for children ages 5 to 14, with three to four children dying from baseball injuries each year.

This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics:The overall incidence of injury in baseball ranges between 2% and 8% of participants per year. Among children 5 to 14 years of age, an estimated 162 000 baseball, softball, and tee-ball injuries were treated in emergency departments in 1995. The number of injuries generally increased with age, with a peak incidence at 12 years. Of the injuries, 26% were fractures, and 37% were contusions and abrasions. The remainder were strains, sprains, concussions, internal injuries, and dental injuries.1 The potential for catastrophic injury resulting from direct contact with a bat, baseball, or softball exists. Deaths have occurred from impact to the head resulting in intracranial bleeding and from blunt chest impact, probably causing ventricular fibrillation or asystole (commotio cordis).1 Children 5 to 15 years of age seem to be uniquely vulnerable to blunt chest impact because their thoraces may be more elastic and more easily compressed.2 Statistics compiled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission1 indicate that there were 88 baseball-related deaths to children in this age group between 1973 and 1995, an average of about 4 per year. This average has not changed since 1973. Of these, 43% were from direct-ball impact with the chest (commotio cordis); 24% were from direct-ball contact with the head; 15% were from impacts from bats; 10% were from direct contact with a ball impacting the neck, ears, or throat; and in 8%, the mechanism of injury was unknown.

Direct contact by the ball is the most frequent cause of death and serious injury in baseball. Preventive measures to protect young players from direct ball contact include the use of batting helmets and face protectors while at bat and on base, the use of special equipment for the catcher (helmet, mask, chest, and neck protectors), the elimination of the on-deck circle, and protective screening of dugouts and benches

[ebobbitt]

There's a little blurb in the paper today about the Drillers being back in Little Rock for a series of games. There's donation boxes set up at the ballpark with the money going to the family of the coach. The article says over $10,000 has been collected so far. I still can't believe this happened.

[sararosalie]

The Round Rock Express organization (where Mike Coolbaugh played for 3 seasons) is also collecting money for the family, as is the entire Texas League.

At the Round Rock stadium we have a tradition of passing a hat and collecting dollar bills for every hometeam player who hits a home run at a home game. For the rest of the season, all of the money collected after a homerun will be donated to MIke Coolbaugh's family. Also all fine money collected in the Texas League will be donated to the Coolbaugh family.

Edited to clarify: By "fine money" I meant the fees that players and coaches have to pay for breaking the rules (not fine, like "George Clooney looks mighty fine") :)

[ClaraB]

Baseball also has the highest fatality rate among sports for children ages 5 to 14, with three to four children dying from baseball injuries each year.

Direct contact by the ball is the most frequent cause of death and serious injury in baseball. Preventive measures to protect young players from direct ball contact include the use of batting helmets and face protectors while at bat and on base, the use of special equipment for the catcher (helmet, mask, chest, and neck protectors), the elimination of the on-deck circle, and protective screening of dugouts and benches[/I]
Our sons' baseball league uses all those safety measures (with the exception of face protectors on batters helmets). I also don't see any mention of requiring pitchers to wear chest protection.

It's unfortunate that there are ANY deaths in baseball, but 3-4 deaths among millions of kids who play the game is a tiny fraction. It's mistaken to try and remove ALL risk from children's lives - otherwise, we'd never let them out of bed in the morning :o .