Mike Coolbaugh

My heart goes out to the family of Mike Coolbaugh. I work with his sister, Lisa.

On Monday, July 23, we got word from Lisa that her brother had died on the baseball field. Mike was the batting coach for the Tulsa Drillers. Mike was positioned at first base while his team was hitting. Tino Sanchez, a left-handed hitter, hit a foul ball and it headed towards Mike. He raised a hand to block it but it was too late. The ball ruptured Mike's carotid artery and he died.

It truly is such a rare kind of accident and it was so awful to hear of that happening to such an outstanding man. Mike leaves behind a growing family: Joey age 5, Jake age 3, and his wife, Mandy, who is pregnant with their third child. She said that if her unborn child is a boy she will name him Mike.

On Sunday, July 29, some coworkers and I traveled to San Antonio to visit Lisa and pay our respects to Mike. It broke our hearts to see Lisa because, like Mandy, she is pregnant also. They both have a hard time eating and the emotional stress effects your entire body. Seeing the two of them grieve so deeply while trying to maintain a healthy pregancy was so hard.

The media swarmed the Coolbaugh house in San Antonio after word of this rare accident got out. But after a family press conference they backed off and gave the family their privacy. Some of them did write beautiful stories about Mike. Here are a few of my favorites:

Brian Anderson

ESPN

Fox Sports

The Tulsa Drillers

Please keep the Coolbaugh family and the Sanchez family in your thoughts and praryers.