WEST BEND - In July 2007, minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh, 35, of the Tulsa Drillers died after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach's box during a game in Arkansas.
Coolbaugh was hit in the ninth inning by a foul ball off the bat of Tino Sanchez. He was taken to Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.
Some colleges have already made it mandatory for first base coaches to wear a helmet and some like Joe Waite with the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association feel the high school game may be next.
“I don't think helmets should be required for coaches,” said Waite who felt Coolbaugh was caught off guard. “It was tragic and horrible, but it was a freak accident. The helmets being worn by base coaches now would not have saved his life, as he was struck below the helmet line.”
“We are in more danger in practices than we would ever be in a game. It can happen, but I think that in 20 plus years of coaching, there have been less than five pitches I saw come off the bat.
“If the WIAA implemented this rule, I think it would be (another) incidence of just implementing a rule because of institutional "peer-pressure,” said Waite admitting he has been hit in practice.
“I got hit in the ribs once, because my focus was on the infielders. My only pain from getting hit by a ball in a game when I tried to catch a line drive and got some sore fingers,” he said.
Kewaskum Indians coach Doug Gonring said he too is not in favor of helmets for coaches. “It just has added extra expenses and another reason for the umpire to be in your grill,” said Gonring who qualified the Coolbaugh accident as “a very freak instance.”
“I would like to know how many coaches have been hit in a year in all baseball games played,” asked Gonring.
“I would bet that the defensive team has been hit more times than any other player on the field. Do we put helmets on those nine players?”
At Milwaukee Lutheran, Bob Heinkel has been coaching baseball for 28 seasons.
“I’ve seen people who have been hit, but how many balls are hit at that velocity,” said Heinkel referencing the hit that killed Coolbaugh. “This is somewhat of a concern but hopefully the people out in those boxes have been on the field enough as players that they are ready, like an athlete, to get out of the way.”
Heinkel felt the protection of the pitcher is more crucial than worrying about the safety of the first-base coach.
“You’ve got pitchers who have rough terrain and the footing isn’t all that good. There are balls that pop up and bat exit speeds are pretty high and so if they’re going to have further safety issues, they need to worry about the exits speeds and the safety of the pitcher,” he said.
Heinkel agreed, pitchers have a glove, but said sometimes that’s not enough.
He also said if you’re going to worry about field coaches, there’s also a coach at third base.
“A third-base coach that’s agile isn’t at much risk, but I think the pitcher has more risk.”
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association has not indicated whether the topic of helmets for first-base coaches is even on the table. No comment has been given about the WIAA’s stance on the subject.
If you have any thoughts on whether helmets should be worn by first-base coaches in high school baseball write judy@prepsonthenet.com.
