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LaRoche, Clemens star at NBC World Series
It was a memorable night for Fort Scott's LaRoche family at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.
After serving as co-architect of the Kansas Stars, a club comprised of former Major League Baseball players, LaRoche and his teammates hit the field Wednesday evening to face the NJCAA National Team, falling 11-10.
Prior to Wednesday's game, the Stars were victorious in their first two contests of pool play, defeating the Sterling (Colo.) Xpress, 8-0, Saturday, followed by Monday night's 8-3 win over the Liberal BeeJays. The game against Liberal was highlighted by Adam LaRoche's 2-run third inning blast.
Wednesday's pregame festivities at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium featured LaRoche's 14-year-old son, Drake, throwing out the first pitch to his father. Drake didn't disappoint, as his first pitch made him look worthy of a roster spot on the Stars pitching staff.
The game opened with seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens taking the mound. Clemens is ninth all-time with 354 career MLB victories. After yielding consecutive singles in the top of the first, Clemens emerged from the inning unscathed, striking out cleanup hitter Handsome Monica.
Catching for Clemens was his son Koby. In addition, Clemens wore his signature No. 21 Boston Red Sox jersey, while LaRoche represented the Washington Nationals, donning his (red) No. 25 uniform.
Already leading 2-0 in the bottom of the first LaRoche rocketed a Chase Burks pitch past first baseman Rhett Aplin and into right field, plating Pete Orr to put the Stars on top 3-0. The official scorer, however, didn't do LaRoche any favors by charging Aplin with an error.
After being staked to a 4-0 advantage the 54-year-old Clemens pitched just 2 and 2/3 innings, exiting to a standing ovation with a 4-3 lead in the top of third. Clemens allowed three earned runs on five hits.
"I thought the ovation was for me," Stars assistant coach Dave LaRoche said with a chuckle. "The fans have been great here the whole series. They've been awesome, and our guys have had a blast playing in front of them."
The Stars held leads of 6-3 in the fifth and 10-6 in the sixth, before the National Team pushed across five runs in the top of the seventh to take an 11-10 lead. The Stars glaring weakness Wednesday night was its bullpen, as David Purcey and Nate Robertson combined to allow eight earned runs during the sixth and seventh frames.
With his team trailing by a run, LaRoche nearly played hero in the bottom of the eighth. Leading off the inning the Fort Scott native launched a Jacob Barton offering to the deepest part of the ballpark, as Mason Mallard was able to track it down just shy of the center field warning track. The game later ended with LaRoche in the on-deck circle, as Orr's fly out to left field stranded runners on first and second.
LaRoche, who was not made available for post-game comments, finished 0-for-5 with a run scored.
Dave LaRoche and Stars manager Dick Robertson said the former MLB players' desire to suit back up stems from their "love of the game."
"They're not getting paid to come here and do this, they just love the game," Dave LaRoche said. "This is all on their own dime. They've done things to help other teams, and whatever (money) they get out of this is going straight to charity. Our guys have been great with the opponents. Guys get on base and they talk (to the opposition). After the game, they sign autographs for players on the other team."
LaRoche added that many former MLB players miss bonding with teammates on the field, in the dugout and locker room. 'They miss the camaraderie, teasing each other and laughing together," he said. "It's been fun for me just staying out of their way and watching them enjoy this experience."
Dave LaRoche, who played 14 MLB seasons (1970-83) for five teams, said after seeing his grandson throw out the first pitch that he wished he could have inserted him into the game during the middle innings. "We needed Drake in those innings throwing strikes for us," LaRoche said of the budding star.
Additionally, Adam's older brother, Jeff, pitched in the top of the ninth, allowing one hit and striking out one.
LaRoche round-tripper
Looking to stay alive with the tournament now in a single-elimination format LaRoche swatted a 2-run home run in the third inning of Thursday's contest against the Seattle Studs, as he was 1-for-2 with 3 RBIs to that point.
As of press time the Stars led Seattle 8-2 in the top of the sixth inning.
Adam LaRoche, 36, retired in March after playing 12 seasons (2004-15) with six teams. For his career LaRoche belted 255 home runs, while collecting 882 RBIs to go along with a .260 batting average.
LaRoche, a 1998 graduate of Fort Scott (Kan.) High School, won Gold Glove (top fielder at his position, first base) and Silver Slugger (top hitter at his position) awards in 2012 while playing for the Nationals.