Larry Kleinz
Director
Larry Kleinz has been
involved as a Player, Coach and Instructor locally for over 30 years. His
playing career included graduating Steinert High School, where he is a member
of their Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1992 as the starting SS on a team that
went 31-1 winning the CVC title, the Mercer County Tournament, the Central
Jersey Group III title, and the Group III State Championship.
Larry went on to play baseball at Villanova University where he was a 4 year Starter and won three Big East Regular Season Titles.He was the All-Big East shortstop for two years, First Team All-NCAA Regional Team(ECAC) , Big East Player of the Year and made D1 Third Team All-American(ABCA) in his Senior Season. In that season he broke former AL MVP Mo Vaughn's Big East Conference record for Runs Batted In and tied former MLB All-Star Craig Biggio's Doubles record. He finished that season hitting .382 with 12 homeruns and 66 runs batted in.
After Villanova, Larry was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 17th Round advancing through the levels from 1996-2000. Finished 1998 in the Florida St League as the 5th Ranked hitter in the entire organization and was the first Mercer County native to play professionally at Mercer County's Waterfront Park in 1999.