Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America

This is a very inspiring true story about the way a young family tries to cope with the tragic death of the young father and husband. So many lessons can be learned from the compassion that his widow shows toward the young player who hit the ball. It's too easy to forget the guilt that survivors of a tragic accident can feel. This book is a keeper!

This story is about a train wreck. It's about the defining moments that bring people together for whatever reason and forever changes their lives. Having played the game it was easy for me to relate to the story of Mike Coolbaugh and his brother being taught the game by his father. Both talented with their eye on making it. For years they could only see the light at the end of the tunnel. They were aware of other things in life that was important i.e. family and friends but their career paths were focused on baseball. This book takes you on a in depth look at their minor league journey. The detail in the authors story is second to none. Baseball is all about the moment. It's risk vs. reward. A good day is like no other, a bad day makes you wonder what you're doing. But there's always tomorrow. Mike Coolbaugh did everything right. But luck, timing were never on his side. You can second guess everything in life except your passion for what you want to do. The book is so well writtien, so layeredd and informative about the journey through the small towns of America that love their teams and players. This is a tragic story, one of those endings that makes you ask why? When you finally put the book down you can only empathisize and hope that all involved in this story can somehow pull it together and live their lives. There's an old saying "you spend half your life trying to grip a baseball and in the end it's the other way around". Thanks to the many fans and the class of the Colorado Rockies for taking care of the Coolbaugh family.

This is a very powerful book. For anyone who loves and follows baseball, especially minor league ball, this is an education in itself. But beyond that, the human drama of Mike Coolbaugh is powerful. You know what's coming, but you get so caught up in the drama of his life that you're almost surprised when it happens. And including the parallel story of Tino Sanchez was masterful and reminds us that in any tragedy, there is always more than one "victim."

Just finished reading "Heart of the Game" by S.L. Price. This is the story of Mike Coolbaugh, the Tulsa Drillers (Rockies AA team) coach who was killed by a foul ball in 2007. I had heard it was a good read, but that's doing this book a massive disservice. This is probably the best baseball (or for that matter, the best sports) book I've ever read. It focuses on Mike Coolbaugh, obviously, but it also focuses on Tino Sanchez, the guy who hit the foul ball, and how their lives came together for that day. There are side stories of the guy who threw the pitch, and also from the team trainer who felt responsible for not being able to save Coolbaugh (although there was nothing he could have done - Coolbaugh was a dead man from the instant the ball hit him, literally). This is a VERY intense read at times, so be prepared. I guarantee you won't put it down when you start the last few chapters. But I strongly recommend you pay the $15 or so and buy the book. By the way, lest you think this is just a tear-jerker (and sure, it does get emotional - how could it NOT?), it's also a very deep look at the way baseball works, how the minor leagues really work, how people are identified and pigeonholed early in their careers, that sort of thing. I learned lots of things I never had thought about. And the interesting thing is, a fair part of it mentions names familiar to any Rockies fan, because of the time Sanchez spent in the Rockies organization: Hurdle, Holliday, Christian Colonel, and so on.

"Heart of the game" is a classic example of sportswriting at its finest. Kudos to SI's Price for this wonderful book, one that should be read by every fan of the great game of baseball as it is played at its highest levels. Can't be recommended highly enough!