Coach Dies After Being Hit

Minor league coach dies after being struck by line drive

July 23, 2007 CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh died Sunday night after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach's box during a Texas League game with the Arkansas Travelers, police said.

The game was suspended in the ninth inning after the 35-year-old Coolbaugh was struck by a hard-hit foul ball off the bat of Tino Sanchez and taken to Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock.

Mike Coolbaugh broke into the big leagues in 2001, when he played 39 games for the Brewers.

"It's a tragedy for all of baseball," Drillers president Chuck Lamson told the Tulsa World in a story posted on the newspaper's website early Monday. "He just joined the staff and was a former Driller player. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."