Courtesy of Buck Commander

The Nat’s first baseman, Adam Laroche, is an avid hunter. He is far from the only baseball player who spends much of his off-season tromping around the US outback trying to outsmart some big wild animals. But Adam makes a bigger challenge out of it by utilizing a bow and arrow! What’s more, he founded and co-owns the big-game hunting show “Buck Commander” on the Outdoor Channel. Adam recently described his “dream hunt” this way: “I would hunt grizzly bear with my bow and hopefully have my son (almost 12 year-old Drake) at my side.” One wonders what Drake’s mother as well as the Nats management would have to say about that!

Courtesy of Washington Post

Since Adam Laroche signed with the Nats in 2010, his son Drake has become a part of the team. During batting practice he can be seen flitting around the outfield chasing big-league flyballs and jumping up and down when he snags one in his black glove. He refers to Nats players like he would school recess buddies: Desi, Zim, Bryce, J-dub.

One day last Spring the Nats were out jogging and playing catch on a day that was unusually cold for Florida. A couple of the veterans came up with a novel solution to this “problem.” They asked Drake to represent the team’s wishes by going to then-manager Davey Johnson and persuading him to let the team do indoor workouts that day. Drake took on the task calmly and convinced Johnson to bring the team in out of the cold! Later, when a reporter heard the story, he pulled Davey aside and asked him how “the kid’ had pulled off the feat. Davey chuckled as he replied “the kid should be the team’s representative to the Players Association; he gave me no
option.”

On the day in Sept. 2012 that the Nats clinched the National League East title, while most of the team was guzzling beer, Drake was in the corner with the other underage kid in the clubhouse, Bryce Harper, sipping apple cider.

Adam Laroche himself grew up in big league clubhouses. His father Dave pitched in the majors until Adam was 4, and then became a coach with the Chicago White Sox.