Two Zags coaches wanted Sexson

Dan Fitzgerald and Steve Hertz saw the potential in Richie Sexson early on. So did Terry Pollreisz. All, of course, wanted the versatile, two-sport athlete from Brush Prairie, Wash., for different reasons.

Fitzgerald, the former men’s basketball coach at Gonzaga University, wanted the 6-foot-8 Sexson as a slashing small forward. Hertz, who headed the Bulldogs baseball program for nearly three decades, wanted him as a sweet-swinging, power-hitting first baseman.

Pollreisz, currently a coach for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, signed Sexson to a letter of intent while the baseball coach at the University of Portland.

Instead, Sexson signed with the Cleveland Indians out of Prairie High School and has developed into one of the majors’ best sluggers.

But he hasn’t cut old ties.

Sexson has kept in touch with Pollreisz and Hertz over the years, and the latter was at Safeco Field on Thursday as Sexson’s guest.

“He was a two-way, multiple-sport star out of high school, and we tried to get him to come to Gonzaga,” said Hertz, who retired as Bulldogs coach in 2003 after 26 seasons and is the school’s director of athletic relations. “He was very respectful, from what I remember. Some kids when they’re getting recruited, they play the game, they keep stuff from you, especially about playing pro ball.

“Richie was up front with us from the beginning.”

Sexson is a friend of former Prairie and Gonzaga basketball star Dan Dickau and had several other friends who attended GU. He said he attends several Bulldogs games every off-season and tries to make it to Spokane for at least one game a season.

Sexson and Hertz talk often on the phone and see each other several times a year. His ties to a school he never attended remain strong.

“(Hertz) is just a great guy,” Sexson said. “We get on the phone to talk about stuff, or when I’m in town for Gonzaga stuff and occasions like today – if he’s here and needs tickets. I also had a bunch of friends who went (to GU) and it seemed like I was always watching them play on TV. It’s been a good experience.”