Greg LaRocca

QuakeBoy,

I am also interested in finding out how Greg is doing. He grew up 2 houses away from me in Bedford, New Hampshire. It is certainly nice to see the local kid do good. I did see a picture of his Japanese Card on the web - it was included in an article, but I can't remember where I saw it. Our local paper, The Manchester Union Leader, had a recent article saying that Greg was one of 2 non-Japanese players and was leading the team in a few categories. If you get any information please let me know.

Rich Tilton

Being a follower of the Hanshin Tigers and not LaRocca's team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, I can't really say too much about his form overall. But I've seen LaRocca a couple of times at Koshien Stadium when Hanshin hosted Hiroshima. In those games he was very impressive: he hit a big home run off us once, and I was impressed with the way he combined with Andy Sheets in the infield - they squashed a few Hanshin chances with some nifty double plays. Although I do remember that LaRocca floored an easy catch in one of those games, too.

Hey Rich,

Greg played for our minor league team about a decade ago and became a good friend and a favorite of my wife's. He's tearing it up in Hiroshima and really enjoying the sushi. Keep in touch.

JD Elmquist

JD,

Thanks for the reply and the additonal information. If you e-mail Greg in the future, tell him that I send him my best from the neighborhood in Bedford, NH. He has obviously moved far away and I'm living in the house that I grew up in!

Rich Tilton

Hi there LaRocca fans!

I am replying from Wales in the UK where as a seasoned Carp fan, used to yearly failure, I have been watching Greg's progress with interest. I am a little surprised that no-one based in Japan has given you his figures, but here are those I have found on the Yahoo Japan site ]Link - Yahoo! Sports in Japanese]

Greg is currently joint 9th in the Central league with an batting average of .328. He is 7th in terms of hits (64), 5th in doubles (13), and equal fourth in home runs (17). This is as at 7th June, after 50 games.

So far as the Carp are concerned, he has the third best batting average, but is the leading home run batsman. He also figures high in terms of stolen bases and being hit by pitches! His slugging percentage (.677) is equal best in the league.

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for the info. Greg played with our minor league team in 1994 & '95 and became our favorite player and, later, a good friend. We've hosted dozens of minor league players over the past 15 years, but Greg was just a cut above. He has since e-mailed us regarding his progress and says he loves Hiroshima. Of course, we introduced him to the joys of sushi several years ago, so he is in sushi heaven. Thanks again for the reply.

JD Elmquist

JD,

I wanted to send Greg a quick note congratulating him on a great season. I'm not sure if you have been in communication with him recently or not. Let me know how I could get in touch with him.

Thanks.

Rich Tilton
hockeyfan82003 at yahoo d0t com