Indianapolis, IN

Tue 24 July 2007

So, I’m thinking about Mike Coolbaugh. He was most recently working as a coach for the Tulsa Drillers, a minor league baseball team. As he was standing near the first base, he was struck in the head by a line drive and died. The ball left him unconscious, and he stopped breathing on his way to the hospital. He left behind a pregnant wife (due in October) and two kids. Coolbaugh played during one season with the Indianapolis Indians in 2001.

It just seems sad to me that someone would have to go like that. I guess I always feel bad when people go in unexpected accidents, freaks of nature. I think those are the worst kinds of deaths. It’s one thing when old people die—you expect it. And even if someone is drunk and wraps their car around a tree, you think, well, they were drunk. But when you’re just standing there doing your job, then it’s harder to take, I think. My dad’s uncle died by cutting wood. Not by having a heart attack while doing it, but by the tree falling in a way unexpected and impaled him. It just seems tragic. So, I guess if I’ve got to go, I’d rather just die of old age. I just worry about his family and his wife. They will have a baby who will never know its father. I hope they get through all of this ok.

: Mike Coolbaugh, Tulsa Drillers, Indianapolis Indians, minor league baseball, unexpected deaths