MLB Coaches to Wear Helmets in Wake of Mike Coolbaugh Tragedy
| 15
|
by Mlnsports
The MLB owners meeting issued a release yesterday that base coaches will be required to wear protective head gear in the wake of the line drive accident that killed Tulsa Drillers third base coach Mike Coolbaugh in July.
I wrote a piece back in July called "The Height of Cool" where I called for protective gear for the players. Branch Rickey, the president of the Pacific Coast League, wrote in our VIP Room at MAJOR BLOGS that it was being resisted and probably wouldn't happen because no one had the proper gear.
I said to him: "And Mizuno or Wilson or one of the other vendors wouldn't jump at the chance to build a proper helmet for a base coach if MLB sanctioned it?"
Now there is a reason to develop proper gear to protect the coaches. It would have been nice, along with the announcement, if the MLB owners had announced that they were making a generous contribution to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund. Mike left behind two children and a pregnant wife. He now has three kids, and, because he was a minor league player, he doesn't draw a pension from the game that he played for 12 years.
The Tulsa Drillers and a local bank established the fund.
Donations are still being accepted to benefit the Coolbaugh family through the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund. Donations can be sent to SpiritBank at the address below. Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund c/o SpiritBank 1800 S. Baltimore Ave. Tulsa, OK 74119
