Dave LaRoche
| Dave LaRoche | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
|
Born: May 14, 1948 Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| May 11, 1970 for the California Angels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 23, 1983 for the New York Yankees | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win–Loss record | 65–58 |
| Earned run average | 3.53 |
| Strikeouts | 819 |
| Saves | 126 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
David Eugene LaRoche (born May 14, 1948 in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. LaRoche is currently the pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s.
He is the father of current Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche, and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Andy LaRoche.
LaRoche made his debut for the California Angels in 1970 and went on to pitch 14 seasons in the major leagues. LaRoche is most famous for throwing his own variant of the eephus pitch, which he called 'La Lob.' Over his career, LaRoche went 65-58, with 819 strikeouts in 1,049⅓ innings pitched. He has a career 3.53 ERA.
During his time as a player representative for the Minnesota Twins LaRoche had a reputation as a troublemaker. According to Bert Blyleven, "A reporter asked him why he wanted to be player rep and Dave said, 'Because all the player reps under Calvin Griffith get traded.'" [1]
LaRoche is of Mexican descent. According to his son Andy, Dave LaRoche's surname was Garcia, however, he changed it to LaRoche at age seven, the last name of his stepfather. "La Roche is French, but I have no French in me," Andy LaRoche said. "My grandfather was 100% Mexican." [2]
See also
- List of second generation Major League Baseball players
- List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube