In his fallen brother’s footsteps
By Jeff Reed \ Times Sports Editor \ jreed@nlrtimes.com
Friday, April 11, 2008 2:46 PM CDT
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| Frisco RoughRider Scott Coolbaugh stands near the first-base coaching box at Dickey-Stephens Park where his brother was killed last July by a foul ball. (Photo by Jeff Reed) |
Scott Coolbaugh knows where he stands.
He knows it way too well.
For the first time since his brother was killed by a line drive at Dickey-Stephens Park, Scott Coolbaugh returned to the site Sunday afternoon.
He wasn't there to pay his respects to his younger brother Mike, who was killed on July 22. He was there working.
Scott Coolbaugh, like his brother, is a first-base coach for a Minor League baseball team. Scott worked for the Frisco Rough Rider while Mike was with the Tulsa Drillers.
“A lot of things raced in my mind before we even got here, to be honest with you,'' he said. “I thought about it on the trip over from Springfield. And Sunday, just kinda knowing the area, being over there and wondering where he was, and standing. Stuff like that ran through my mind.
Several members of the Rough Riders said they had not mentioned the trip to North Little Rock to their coach.
“I hide my emotions pretty good I think. But deep down I was thinking about him a lot when I was over there. It has gotten to a point now where I do everything I can to block it out of my mind when I am on the baseball field.''
Mike Coolbaugh died on July 24 when a foul ball stuck him in the head during the ninth inning of a game with the Travelers. On the job a little more than two months, he was just three outs from safety when tragedy struck.
“I had to go through it a little bit last year after I took off about a week and came back it was the same kinda thing,'' he said. “It is going to going to take time, but at the same time I know I have a job to do. He would want me to do the job right and not worry about it. But the thoughts are definitely in the back of my mind, knowing this is the ballpark where it happened in and stuff like that. There is no question about it, it brings back some nightmares.''
Scott Coolbaugh has been in the Texas League as a player and a coach. He has worked with Frisco, the Texas Rangers’ affiliate for two seasons. He was in Dickey-Stephens Park just three weeks before his brother's death.
“It is definitely hard at times but I know the more and more I think about it takes away my focus of being over there too. I definitely want to be aware of what is going on in front of me and situation out there at hand. I don't think anybody could not think about it.''
The accident brought the baseball community together. Traveler fans donated more than $37,000 and Tulsa fans more than $60,000. Other teams also collected donations and the Colorado Rockies voted to give the Coolbaugh family a full share of its World Series earnings.
“I feel bad for the people who were there that night,'' he said Coolbaugh. “Arkansas has been great to our family from the funds and things people have done. I can't say enough about the people here.
“ A lot of things can go wrong when you are a player and a lot of excuses you can make as far as the organization messing you around for not getting called up. But when it really comes down to it, it is a fraternity.
“It is a special group of people to rally around each other in times like this and it has shown. It has shown in the fans. It has shown from everyone involved with Minor League baseball. That is what makes it so special. It is still a pure game in the Minor Leagues. Of course we all know it is a business in the Major Leagues.
