Tulsa 1B coach Mike Coolbaugh killed by line drive

<a href="http://www.deuceofdavenport.com/2007/07/radio-call-of-line-drive-that-killed.html">
Here's the radio call of the line drive.</a>

 

The audio is warped...can't hear a thing clearly.

 

Played perfectly for me.

 

Me too.

 

My daughter is a college softball pitcher (wow, it's cool to get to say that). This is my worst nightmare as a parent. She is 43 feet away and the batters are strong and using aluminum and composite bats. In a tournament she played in last summer a pitcher took a shot off the top of the forhead and continued into center field where it was caught on the fly. The pitcher ended up being OK, but man was it scary.

 

Men's slowpitch pitchers are at as great a risk as anyone. It's 40 feet to the rubber from the plate. I've seen guys wear masks for protection...one guy who had his face scrambled by a HotDot ball being ripped back at him.

 

Guys you might try polling your area coaches about this. 10 college and high school coaches in our area were asked if they'd start wearing a helmet now, and nine said no. One is worried that liability insurance carriers might muscle it through.

That might explain why you're writing and they're coaching... I mean, hell, I'd go out there with a glove if I was coaching. But I'm not.

 

I think the helmet would cause communication difficulties. It's hard enough to hear coaches and players when you're on the field. Now you throw a barrier between your ears and the player and it just makes it tougher.

 

According to the story I read today, it didn't even hit his temple or his forehead. According to the coroner's report, it hit him on the left side of the throat, shattering one of his main arteries.

Warning: The witness description and the resulting injuries are kind of vivid. So don't read any further if that will bother you.

 

That paints such a great -- and horrific -- picture.

 

Why did everyone who was there say it hit him in the head?

 

It apparently was insanely quick. I mean, you see something hit someone in the head region, it probably made a cracking noise if it hit his jaw...I doubt anyone could follow it with their eyes, so it would have had to be a matter of piecing things together.