It's been half a year since Adam LaRoche retired from the White Sox following concerns about the amount of time his son Drake was spending in the clubhouse. Save for one measly profile in a national publication, we've barely heard what life has offered the LaRoches in the interim.
Turns out, we could find out in the coming days, because Adam and Drake are about to re-enter our consciousness. On Saturday, the LaRoches will team up to throw out the first pitch prior to Game 2 of the Dodgers-Nationals series:
#Nationals confirm Adam and Drake La Roche will throw out ceremonial first pitch before NLDS Game 2 vs #Dodgers. Game 1: Livan Hernandez.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 5, 2016
This isn't as random as it seems. LaRoche spent four seasons in D.C., where he hit .249/.341/.441 with 82 home runs. LaRoche presumably brought Drake to the clubhouse quite often while with the Nationals -- perhaps to the extent that he could be described as a leader -- meaning there's familiarity there, too.
Besides, the Nationals don't have a many non-active options to fill these team-legend spots -- Livan Hernandez is throwing out the Game 1 pitch, for cripes sake -- and as such, it's really a matter of whether they prefer LaRoche or Nick Johnson. (That's not a joke -- those are the two retired individuals who rank in the top-10 in Nationals' franchise history in WAR.)
The Nationals just so happened to pick LaRoche. And his son.
