Steve Hertz (third baseman)

Stephen Allan Hertz (born February 26, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball player. He is now manager of the Tel Aviv Lightning in the Israel Baseball League.^[1]

High school

Hertz starred as an All-City and All-State infielder at Miami High School in Florida.

Professional baseball career

In 1964 Hertz, at the age of 19 (the 8th-youngest player in the league), played for the Houston Colt .45's (now the Astros). He appeared in only 5 games, two at third base, with 4 at bats in which he struck out 3 times. He had the statistical oddity of scoring twice, though he did not have a hit or a walk and was not hit by a pitch, resulting in a .000 on-base percentage.

He played a few more seasons in the minor leagues and ended his playing days by winning an International League title with the New York Mets' triple-A farm team, the Tidewater Tides, in 1969.

During his pro career, Hertz found time to return to Miami in the off-season and receive his physical education degree from the University of Miami.

Coaching

Following an outstanding high school coaching career, in which he managed his Miami Coral Park High School team to a Florida State Championship in 1978 and attained 300 career victories, Herz became the baseball coach at Miami Dade College. There, he compiled an impressive 778-283 career mark during his tenure, averaging more than 35 wins per season.

His teams were a constant visitor to the Florida Community College Activities Association state tournament since 1986. He coached many talented players who have played at the major league level, including Jaime Navarro, Plácido Polanco, Orlando Palmeiro, Edwards Guzmán, Alex Sánchez, Andrés Torres, Omar Olivares, and Juan Peña.

Hertz was selected the Miami Coach of the Year on 6 occasions, and in 1987 he was the coach of the silver medal-winning South squad at the United States Olympic Festival.

Hertz co-coached the United States entry in the Junior Pan American Maccabiah Games to a gold medal in Mexico City in 2001, and Hertz's American Maccabi team also won a gold medal in 2003 in Chile.

At MDC, in addition to his coaching duties, Hertz also taught health analysis and improvement and principles of coaching. As of 2009, he is no longer with MDC.

Managing in the Israel Baseball League

Hertz in 2007 was the Manager of the Tel Aviv Lightning of the Israel Baseball League . The Lightning finished the inaugural 2007 season in second place with a 26-14 (.650) record, and lost to the Modi'in Miracle in the semifinals of the 2007 championship.

Halls of Fame

In 1985, he was inducted into the Miami High School Hall of Fame.

In 2006 Hertz was inducted into the Florida Community College Activities Association Hall of Fame .

Miscellaneous

• Hertz earned his master's degree in administration and supervision from Nova University in 1987.
• Hertz resides in Kendall, Florida with his wife, Fran, and sons, Jeff and Darren.
• Son Darren is a member of Billy Donovan's University of Florida men's basketball coaching staff, and has been since 1996. Most recently, Darren is the Assistant to the Head Coach for the 2-time national champion Florida Gators.
• Hertz is Jewish.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Cube stats
• Fangraphs stats
• Baseball Almanac bio
• BR Bullpen profile
• Miami Dade bio
• Jewish Major Leaguers baseball card
• "Miami Dade College Coaches to be inducted into the Florida Community College Activities Association Hall of Fame," 10/10/06

References