Minor league coach died after being hit with line drive

[prohornblower]

This is very sad, obviously. He only took the job on July 3rd as well...as a pitcher, this was always a pretty scary thought for me, and part of the reason for wanting to get hitters out. You simply can't afford to have a hitter square-up a pitch often for fear of these fluke occurences.

As an aside, this hits home for me, as less than a month ago during a hockey game I had taken my helmet off for no more than 40 seconds during play, while sitting on the bench, to dry my hair/head and a puck came out of play and struck me very hard about an inch above the left temple. I remained conscious and was not concussed, but it obviously hurt like a bastard and I felt like a fool because play stopped. My vision was fine. I wasn't cut, but severely swollen. I sat out about 10 minutes and was OK to go in for the last 5 minutes of play.

Within the following week my only complaint was I felt a slight pressure imbalance in my left ear (just a little annoying...my hearing was fine), so I went to the ENT (who is studied in head/neck surgery) and he basically laughed it off and looked in my ear and said I was fine and that no internal leakage would be happening.

But anyway on the ride home from that game that night it really struck me how lucky I was. If the puck hits me an inch or two lower, it may be "lights out" at age 28, while my 21 year old brother was sitting 3 spots down from me on the same bench and saw it happen. Or it could have hit my left eye causing me to lose sight, etc. Some would say that I am fine, and thus, it must not have been a big deal, but I know better. I can't be results-oriented; I have to realize that if I get drilled in the head with a puck again, luck may not be on my side and that may be it. Or I could get hit 76 times without anything happening. Point is, I only take my helmet off when the puck is NOT in play. durrrrrr [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Anyway, I feel like I'm on a freeroll now, but I wish I could say the same for Coolbaugh.

Cliche warning: Life is precious and we need to value every minute we have here.

[MicroBob]

prohorn - and consider that lots of pros don't even wear face-shields and only wear the helmet because they have to.
Amazing if you ask me.

How many times do you have to see a guy take a slapshot in the face before they get the message that a little more protection from these shots (which are just coming harder and harder) might be in order?

The line-drive stuff as a pitcher can definitely be scary.
I think a lot of fans don't truly realize how insanely close a pitcher is (especially after his follow-through) or how fast that ball gets to him.

It looks like one thing on TV.
But if you actually go stand out there it looks more like, "How is it even humanly possible to react to something that fast from this close?"

Remember hearing of a pitcher at Miami (Ohio) who got hit by a line-drive and almost died. The drive knocked him unconcious and he swallowed his tongue or something and was choking. Really scary stuff.

[prohornblower]

Yeah back in the ol' days hockey goalies didn't even wear helmets. WTF? They probably had more scar-tissue on their face than Michael Jackson. Insane.

[mosdef]

[ QUOTE ]
How many times do you have to see a guy take a slapshot in the face before they get the message that a little more protection from these shots (which are just coming harder and harder) might be in order?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not very many. The slapshot wasn't prominent in the NHL until the late 50s, the same time that goalie masks became widely used.

[wpr101]

I went to a Nationals game last year. There was this girl next to me who was in her teens and was worried the whole game that a ball was going to hit her. She left in the 7th inning with her Dad. In the 8th inning a ball was popped up and literally hit her seat... I got the ball. So ironic.

[dlk9s]

[ QUOTE ]
It is a very sad thing, but I can't be the only one who snickered when they read that his team was the drillers, can i?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I think you were.

[biakabutukafan]

There is a pitcher for Tulsa named Jon Asahina who at the same stadium earlier this year got hit in the face by a line drive and was on the DL for about two months. This week was his first week back.

[prohornblower]

[ QUOTE ]
There is a pitcher for Tulsa named Jon Asahina who at the same stadium earlier this year got hit in the face by a line drive and was on the DL for about two months. This week was his first week back.

[/ QUOTE ]

I heard about that, I heard he fractured his skull and ruptured his eardrum and sat in a hospital for about a week. Yowzah.

[Suigin406]

very sad news, i really am surprised how this doesn't happen more often, unfortunately, there's really nothing that can be done about it imo

[TheNoodleMan]

[ QUOTE ]
very sad news, i really am surprised how this doesn't happen more often, unfortunately, there's really nothing that can be done about it imo

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm, a helmet?