Disgusted coach says he feels like batboy
Death of minor league coach prompts major leagues to take action
John Raoux / APWhile wearing a batting helmet, Braves coach Glenn Hubbard stands in the dugout as he prepares to go out to coach first base in an exhibition game Wednesday. A new rule requires first and third base coaches to wear a batting helmet during games.
Third base coaches are especially at risk, since they tend to move even closer to home plate when there are runners on base, perhaps no more than 50 or 60 feet away from the hitter. Snitker, for instance, likes to ease down the line so he can pick up balls hit to the outfield and have the runners in his line of sight if he needs to wave them home. He usually stands with his back to the plate until right before the pitch is thrown.
“You try to slow things down,” he said. “You go over it first in your mind, then just kind of let your instincts take over. Sometimes I’m right. Sometimes I’m wrong.”
Luis Alicea, Boston’s first base coach, said it’s easy for the mind to drift between pitches, especially when no one’s on base. Coaches wind up looking toward the fielders instead of the hitter. They stroll in a little closer to the plate than they need to be.
Coolbaugh’s death certainly made them take another look.
“What came to mind was being more aware of the situation, paying more attention, really making sure that your eyes are locked in on the hitter at all times, because sometimes you get a little lax and you look around and I think you lose focus of where you’re standing,” Alicea said. “At all times, you’re in danger.”
No matter how many precautions they take, coaches get used to the idea of being hit by the ball several times a season. They never forget the ones that hurt the most.
“I got hit right here during spring training,” Hubbard said. “Marcus Giles, a right-handed hitter, hit one of those line drives. It caught me right in the thigh.”
Jose Cruz, who works first base for the Houston Astros, said he’s amazed Coolbaugh was the first to die in the coaching box.
“It’s too bad they waited until someone was killed,” Cruz said. “A lot of the guys have come close to getting killed.”
Glenallen Hill didn’t need baseball to issue a mandate on helmets. The Rockies first base coach put one on right after Coolbaugh was killed.
“Even though it’s a small upgrade percentage-wise in protection for the coaches, it’s an upgrade,” Hill said. “It took me about three days of just getting used to having it on. But after three days, it was just fine.”
Everyone seems to agree on one thing: Baseball shouldn’t stop at protecting the coaches on the field.
What about the guys in the dugout? What about the fans sitting in the lower decks? What about the umpires?
“I know the fans along the foul lines and above the dugouts are pretty exposed,” Hill said. “Every year someone gets hit. Every time a ball shoots over the dugout or gets pulled down the line, there’s a sick feeling that happens to my stomach, and it’s (the same) every single time. Every single time.”
The newer, retro-style ballparks have been designed with much less foul territory, bringing fans closer to the action but also leaving them more vulnerable to line drives that zing into the stands with a split-second’s notice. Gallego suggested extending the screen behind home plate down the foul lines.
“A good friend of ours, his wife was injured pretty badly,” he said. “She had to go through plastic surgery. She got hit right in the face. It rearranged her nose.”
Hubbard is more concerned about another key group.
“Who gets hit the most in the game?” the Braves coach asked. “The umpires. How come they don’t have to wear a helmet? They get hit more than we do.”
Tim Flannery, the third base coach of the San Francisco Giants, was already wearing a plastic shield under his cap for extra protection. He would prefer to stick with that — it’s much more comfortable — but understands the need for helmets, too.
“I’ll find something that works,” he said.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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