Mike Coolbaugh

Michael Robert Coolbaugh (June 5, 1972 – July 22, 2007) was an American baseball player and coach. Born in Binghamton, New York, 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, Coolbaugh was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round (433rd overall) of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft. Coolbaugh spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues. He broke the Southern League record for runs batted in during a season. The impact ruptured Coolbaugh's left vertebral artery, which supplies significant parts of the brain with blood. The result, according to Pulaski County coroner Mark Malcolm, was a severe brain hemorrhage.

Travelers general manager Pete Laven was among the first to reach Coolbaugh after he collapsed, 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, applying pressure to various areas of Coolbaugh's body, all with no response. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation 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, Texas League president Tom Kayser declared the game to be a complete game. Additionally, the Drillers and Travelers both chose to postpone the game scheduled for the following night. 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, her share ended up being $233,505.18.

On November 8, 2007, MLB general managers decided that all base coaches would wear helmets 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 Texas League established the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Coach of the Year Award in 2007 to honor the most outstanding hitting or pitching coach in the league. The first recipient was his brother, Scott Coolbaugh.

In 2008, Minor League Baseball began presenting the annual Mike Coolbaugh Award 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.