Scott Coolbaugh

Scott Robert Coolbaugh

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of Texas at Austin
• High School Roosevelt High School (San Antonio)
• Debut September 2, 1989
• Final Game August 11, 1994
• Born June 13, 1966 in Binghamton, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Scott Coolbaugh saw action in four big league seasons.

Brother of the late Mike Coolbaugh and father of Tyler Coolbaugh, Scott was named to the 1987 College World Series All-Tournament team and signed as the third round pick of Doug Gassaway, Sandy Johnson and the Texas Rangers in 1987. In 1987, he hit .275 with 21 doubles in 66 games, then .270 with 13 homers and 75 RBI while with the Tulsa Drillers in 1988. He was an American Association All-Star in 1989 when he hit .260 with 18 homers and 74 RBI. Scott came up for a looky loo that September, ultimately playing 167 games between 1989 and 1994 with a .215/.281/.310 line and 8 home runs. It has been noted Coolbaugh hit exactly two home runs in each of his four major league seasons, apparently a record for the most seasons to hit the same number of homers over a complete career (not counting players who had no home runs). His brother, Mike, hit two home runs in 2001.

In 1998, Coolbaugh hit .317/.395/.568 for the Hyundai Unicorns, finishing 4th in the KBO in batting average, the only foreign player in the top eight. His 97 RBI were five behind Seung-yeop Lee and six behind leader Tyrone Woods. Coolbaugh and Woods were clearly the top foreign players in the league's first year to allow non-Japanese foreign performers. Coolbaugh homered twice in the 1998 Korean Series to help Hyundai win the title; he was the first American to hit a home run in a Korean Series. Five years later, Coolbaugh's brother would play in Korea, making them the first brother duo to play in the majors and the KBO.

Scott started his coaching career in August 1999 as a first base coach for the El Paso Diablos before spending four of the next five years (2000-2001, 2003-2004) managing. He returned to the Diablos in 2002 as their hitting coach. Coolbaugh moved to the Texas Rangers organization in 2007 where he was the hitting coach for the Frisco RoughRiders for two seasons. After the 2007 season he coached West Oahu CaneFires hitters in the Hawaii Winter League. From 2009-2010, he was the hitting coach of the Oklahoma City RedHawks. Coolbaugh was the hitting coach of the Round Rock Express at the start of 2011, then on June 8th was promoted to the parent Texas Rangers, replacing Thad Bosley as hitting coach. He held the job through the 2012 season. In 2011, the Rangers led Major League Baseball in batting average (.283) and reached the World Series before falling in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2012, Texas led the Major Leagues in runs scored (808) and ranked second in the American League in batting average (.272). Coolbaugh moved down to the Round Rock Express in 2013 in the same role and spent 2014 as the Rangers' Minor League Hitting Coordinator.

In 2015, he was named hitting coach of the Baltimore Orioles, staying until the end of the 2018 season. The Orioles ranked third in the majors in homers (890), eighth in total bases, and ninth in slugging percentage during his tenure. He moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers' chain as hitting coach of the Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2019. In 2020, he was named assistant hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, but stayed for only one season. In 2021, he was named hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers. He was let go at the end of the 2022 season. In 2023, he was one of two assistant hitting coaches with the San Diego Padres, along with Oscar Bernard, with no one having the title of hitting coach on the team. Coolbaugh returned to coaching at the minor league level in 2024 when he was named a Padres' Minor League Hitting Advisor. He continued in this role in 2025.

In addition to his work in the United States, Coolbaugh served as a bench coach for the Águilas de Mexicali during the 2019/2020 Mexican Pacific League season.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2000	High Desert Mavericks	California League	48-92	10th	Arizona Diamondbacks
2001	Lancaster JetHawks	California League	61-79	8th (t)	Arizona Diamondbacks
2003	El Paso Diablos	Texas League	67-73	7th	Arizona Diamondbacks
2004	El Paso Diablos	Texas League	49-89	8th	Arizona Diamondbacks

Related Sites

• Scott Coolbaugh profile from the Rough Riders official site
• Article about Scott Coolbaugh taking the Frisco job