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It drives me crazy when fans don't pay attention to the game when sitting close. This is what can happen and he was paying attention.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/...b&fext=.jsp

Drillers coach struck by foul ball, killed

07/23/2007 2:12 AM ET
By Daren Smith / MLB.com

Tulsa Drillers hitting coach Mike Coolbaugh died Sunday night, less than an hour after he was struck in the head by a line drive. He was 35.
Coolbaugh was pronounced dead at 10:47 p.m. ET at Baptist Health Medical Center, according to Sgt. Terry Kuykendall of the North Little Rock (Ark.) Police Department.

The incident occurred in the top of the ninth inning of the Drillers' Texas League game against the Arkansas Travelers. Coolbaugh was coaching first base when he was hit in foul territory by a liner off the bat of Tulsa designated hitter Tino Sanchez.

According to the Drillers' radio broadcast, Coolbaugh barely had time to lean back before he was struck. Trainers from both teams and medical personnel at Dickey-Stephens Park rushed to Coolbaugh and treated him until an ambulance arrived some 15 minutes later.

Coolbaugh reportedly did not regain consciousness and was not breathing when paramedics began administering CPR on the field. His neck was immobilized before he was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center.

Kuykendall said Coolbaugh stopped breathing again as the ambulance arrived at the hospital and doctors were unable to resuscitate him. As with any "unnatural death," police are conducting an investigation, Kuykendall said.

"We're attempting to gather as much information as we can ... so maybe we can give the family some answers," he added.

Coolbaugh took over as Drillers' hitting coach on July 3. He spent most of his 17-year playing career in the Minor Leagues, appearing in 39 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001 and five games for the St. Louis Cardinals the following year.

Coolbaugh is the younger brother of former Major Leaguer Scott Coolbaugh, who serves as hitting coach for the Frisco RoughRiders.

After a delay of approximately 30 minutes, the game was suspended with the Travelers leading, 7-3.

On April 26 at Dickey-Stephens Park, Tulsa right-hander Jonathan Asahina also was struck by a line drive near his left temple and suffered a fractured skull and ruptured eardrum. He was hospitalized for nearly a week but has since rejoined the team.


This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Sad story.

It bothers me too when you see people sitting close and not paying much attention. It can be lights out pretty quick.

Give a seat behind a screen or somewhere in the low upperdeck.

When I was a kid an attorney friend of the family had season ticket box seats just
outside the screen behind home plate at the old muni.

A foul ball shattered the back of one of the seats when unoccupied. The next year
the seats were well inside the screen.

AJ would give my mother his seats on occasion as she loved Rocky Colovito [sp?]

Wow, that's really terrible. Poor guy didn't even have time to react.

And there are people out there who would like the pros to use aluminum bats! Can you imagine?

I grew up with a woman who a few years ago was hit with a puck that flew into the stands at a hockey game. She had some kind of cerebral episode right afterward and lost almost all of her mobility. She can't walk or talk, but her mind is OK. Terrible thing, she was only about 26 when it happened.

Wasn't a girl killed by a puck at a Columbus Blue Jackets game a few years ago, or was it another NHL city?
When you're at a game, you have to pay attention to what's going on.

When I was a kid we were at Three Rivers sitting down the first base line and a hard foul ball came off the bat and one section toward right field from us a guy was turned talking to his wife and jjust as he turned back the ball hit him in the jaw... I'm pretty sure he lived, but I'm also sure he was probably never the same and needed quite a bit of reconstructive surgery....

I'm fully aware it was an accident. I didn't intend to make it sound like they threw the puck at her. It was an awful thing, I remember hoping she was going to be ok, and sad she didn't make it...it didn't help the image of Blue Jacket hockey...that's really what I was referring to

Now, to be fair.. after that incident, the CBJ and the NHL increased the netting at arenas and increased fan safety in addition to a settlement with the family.

Sad story indeed! My prayer's go out to his familey and friend's.

I don't think it tainted the team or the NHL.. You go to a hockey game, pucks can get deflected into the stands. At baseball, there is a chance a foul ball will smack you in the head. At NBA games, players can run into the stands and start fighting with you.

LMAO...

It's unfortunate that things like this can happen. But it's part of the game being at risk for those types of things. My thoughts go out to his family. Sad.

Prayers go out to his family, friends and the team, also prayers to the batter, sure it was a accident, but he still has to be going thru his mind, the ball he hit killed a guy, Sad story,

Yeah, very true. I forgot about the batter. That has to be hard.

Ray Chapman short stop the Cleveland Indians was the only major leaguer to be killed by a pitch in 1920. I don't know if any have been by a batted ball.

Here's a pic of Rays grave I took a few years back at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. The stone was paid by change from fans and today you'll still find lots of change on top of the stone along with bats, balls & pennants

Thankyou for shareing that Hoop.....nice to know people can still remember those lost.