I never had the good fortune of meeting Mike Coolbaugh, but from what I hear, I would have liked him alot. You have to admire guys who grind in the minors and one day get to reach up for that cup of coffee. To finally be able to say they made it and eat from the crumbs at the edge of the table we as ballplayers all yearned to eat at. And even more so, even though I am sure it is no consolation to his family, to die doing something he loved.
Mike Coolbaugh was coaching first base one mid-summer's night in the Texas League when a line drive off the bat of Tino Sanchez hit him in the neck, killing someone who was known ironically in the baseball world as a "lifer". This is his story...His wife and three young son's left behind story...And Tino Sanchez's story.
Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America, by S. L. Price is a baseball book we all should read. Please check out the terrific review by James Bailey, former associate editor at Baseball America, at
http://www.hardballcooperative.com/?p=1546. And help honor a man who gave his life to the game by never letting us forget who he was.
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