CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University Department of Athletics and the Coastal baseball program will honor former head coach Lawrence "Larry" Carr this upcoming season. Carr, who coached CCU alum and current head coach Gary Gilmore, passed away peacefully in September of 2018 at the age of 77.
 
Affectionately known as the "Hit Man" for his unorthodox but effective hitting techniques, Carr led the Coastal baseball program to five NAIA World Series appearances and an overall record of 253-84-1 from 1978-84.
 
Hired at Coastal Carolina by athletic director Walt Hambrick, Carr's Chanticleer teams were potent hitters, so much so that the 1983 team was nicknamed "Dr. Longball" after posting a .353 batting average and smashing 103 home runs.
 
He guided the 1983 team to a then-school record 46 wins and produced a then-school record six Major League Baseball (MLB) draft picks that season.
 
Carr's teams were such ferocious hitters that Collegiate Baseball Magazine ran a posed picture of him dressed in a trench coat, hat, and gloves in front of Alcatraz and labeled him "The Hit Man".
 
Carr coached Coastal's first NAIA All-American in Steve Billingsley in 1978 and led the team to its first NAIA World Series appearance in his first season. He guided Coastal back to the NAIA World Series in 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1984, winning six NAIA District 6 championships and four NAIA Area 7 championships.
 
Overall, he mentored four NAIA All-Americans, had 12 players chosen in the MLB Draft, and coached current head coach Gary Gilmore from 1979-80.
 
Carr was involved in athletics his entire life. He competed in four sports in high school and was involved in five at Ithaca College. He also spoke at baseball conventions and wrote instructional books since 1978 when he penned "The Home Run Hitter's Handbook". Over time, Carr wrote about every aspect of baseball ranging from bunting and hitting to throwing and pitching to mental and physical conditioning.
 
Carr's first college baseball coaching job was at the University of South Carolina, where he led the school's freshman team to an undefeated season and the ACC Championship in 1968.
 
Carr, who lived in Conway for years, later coached baseball at Loris High School, before eventually heading back to his native New York.
 
He began his baseball career as a batboy for the Troy (N.Y.) Panthers, a semipro team coached by his father, "Bicycle Willie" Carr.

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