LaRoche off to good start

Now in his 11th Major League Baseball season, former Fort Scott High School baseball product Adam LaRoche is off to a fast start. LaRoche is the starting first baseman and cleanup hitter for the Washington Nationals and carries a .312 batting average into May. LaRoche also has four home runs and 17 runs batted in on the young season.

"For being 34 years old, I don't feel too bad," LaRoche told The Tribune in April. "The key is staying healthy all year. So that's kind of our goal as a team right now. And if we keep doing that and being consistent I think we'll be in pretty good shape come September."

The Nationals are currently sitting two games out of first place in the National League East, with a 16-12 record. Prior to the season, the Nationals were a popular pick amongst pundits to get to the World Series. Sports Illustrated, in its baseball preview, picked the Nationals to defeat the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

"Our season is going good," LaRoche said. "As most people know, we've got a heck of a team. A little bit of turnover, some new players. We've got a new manager in Matt Williams, who's been phenomenal. We've hit a couple of little speed bumps along the way. We lost our starting catcher (Wilson Ramos), our center fielder (Denard Span, who has since returned to action) and our third baseman (Ryan Zimmerman). A couple of those guys should be coming off the DL (disabled list) soon. That's always a struggle, when you lose key parts of your lineup."

The Nationals are loaded with top young talent, including outfielder Bryce Harper, starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, and shortstop Ian Desmond. LaRoche said he views himself as a seasoned veteran who younger guys can look up to as well as seek out for advice.

"As one of the older guys, it kind of turns into your role over time," LaRoche said. "Most importantly, is to lead by example. I do remember coming up and some of the mentors I had. Whether it was Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, (John) Smoltz, or Julio Franco -- who I platooned with at first (base) my rookie year (with the Atlanta Braves). I had some older guys that would constantly pull me aside and try to teach me the game, and the right way to play the game.

"And not only that, but they would go out there and do it. So that was a great example of teaching it, then going out and leading by example. And that's something I'll never forget. That's something I know was really helpful for me coming up. So now I feel like it's kind of my responsibility to pass that on. There's a respect factor there. The longer you play this game and play it the right way, you start to gain respect from the younger guys. And it makes it a lot easier for them to come up and kind of pick your brain and for them to listen when something needs to be said."

In 1998, LaRoche led the FSHS baseball team to a Class 4A State runner-up finish. During his senior campaign that year, LaRoche hit eight home runs, while also finishing with a 7-0 record as a pitcher. LaRoche played one season at Fort Scott Community College, later transferring to Seminole Community College in Oklahoma.

LaRoche won the Gold Glove award in 2012 along with the Silver Slugger award that year. The Silver Slugger award goes to the best offensive player at their respective position, in both the American and National leagues. The Gold Glove award goes to the top defensive player at each position.

"We're in a really good spot to have a combination of a handful of guys who have been around and some really good young talent," he said. "So we're just going to continue to push those guys and try to teach them some of the things we learned early on."

Over spring break, the FSHS baseball team traveled to Florida, to take in sun, the beach, and Nationals spring training games. LaRoche was instrumental in helping to make the trip possible.

"We had a blast," LaRoche said. "I got a lot of the credit for that, but really it goes to (FSHS baseball coach) Josh (Regan) and the high school for coming up with the funding, with all of their fundraisers to make that happen."

LaRoche said he hopes the team will return to Florida in 2015, to take in more Nationals spring training action.

"I hope we can turn that into an annual trip," he said. "I think it's really neat for those kids. Not only to get down there and see some really good baseball. But the fact that, probably a lot of them don't get outside of Fort Scott a whole lot. So to be back with the high school, and for them to be allowed to take a trip like that was pretty special."