Next to parenting, teaching is the most undervalued profession in the world. For baseball players, raw talent is a necessity. But unless that innate skill is shaped into something useful, that talent might just as well go to waste. Just look at Aaron Judge, who went from a struggling hitter to MVP caliber just from a few tips. Similarly, Larry Heinz, who passed on this Wednesday aged 76, did the same for budding talents at Rochester High School with a special mantra.

Heinz started at the Washington school in 1985, nurturing youngsters toward local and state championships multiple times. An alumnus of North Central High School and later Spokane Community College, Heinz, had always been passionate about baseball. Unfortunately, the world had to say goodbye to the coaching icon recently.

Veteran Baseball Coaching Legend Larry Heinz Unexpectedly Passed Away at 76

Even though Heinz retired from Rochester High in 2002, the school never forgot him. It named its baseball field in his honor, forever etching his name into its history. At his insistence, they added the name of Justin Rotter, longtime assistant coach at the school.

Sadly, everyone had to bid goodbye to him on Wednesday, August 9th at age 76. According to The Chronicle, he had suffered from pancreatic cancer but fought it bravely. Heinz inspired generations of baseball talent at Rochester, one of whom even took over as coach after he retired. 

Brad Quarnstrom, Rochester’s current baseball coach, always found Larry, his mentor, inspiring, leading to him teaching the way he was taught. “He definitely has had a long-lasting impact on the program, still to this day,” he told The Chronicle. 

Quarnstrom, who himself played for Heinz as a teenager, added, “I didn’t know any different. That was what I had watched growing up as a kid, was Coach Heinz and the style of baseball and the style of a program he was about. It was ‘give it all you had every single day.'”

Besides the state championships in 1993 and 1995, Heinz also took Rochester’s Warriors to 11 league titles and five district titles. “He’s truly going to be missed, for sure,” Quarnstrom said. “He touched the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people.”

In the last decade of the 20th century, the high school established its reputation as one of the best in baseball because its coach was a force to be reckoned with. Even as a player, Heinz made waves at Spokane.

Heinz Was a Talented Two-Sport College Athlete

After graduating from North Central in 1965, the late baseballer started at Spokane Community College and its first-ever baseball team. In 1966, the team appeared at the state championship game at Centralia’s Fort Borst Park. But that wasn’t all he could do. Heinz also starred on the college’s basketball team as a point guard, leading it to a state title in 1967.

Despite his achievements, what most remember him for is his dedication to coaching the next generation. Besides Rochester, he also served as a coach for the Centralia American Legion team, leading it to a state championship in 1993. Interestingly, Rotter was the ace on that team.

Survived by his wife, son, daughter-in-law and three granddaughters, the baseball community will fondly remember Heinz.

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May he rest in peace!

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