David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979 in Orange County, California), is a Major League Baseball first baseman. In 2011, the Washington Nationals signed him to a two-year deal. He is the son of Dave LaRoche and the brother of third baseman Andy LaRoche who is currently a member of the Cleveland Indians organization.

Adam LaRoche was a 1998 graduate of Fort Scott (KS) High School, where he played baseball. He was named an All-American in baseball as a senior. His uncle, Dave Regan, was his high school head coach.

He played for his father, Dave, at Fort Scott Community College in 1999 before transferring to Seminole (OK) Junior College in 2000, where he was an All-American and the MVP of the Junior College World Series.

He had been drafted by the Florida Marlins in both the 1998 and 1999 amateur drafts, but refused to sign. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2000 and did sign.

For the start of the 2004 season, the Braves made LaRoche, who had not yet made his major league debut, their starting first baseman. The left-handed LaRoche platooned with 46 year-old veteran Julio Franco and put up a respectable .278 rookie batting average.

Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Arabic: آدم‎, Syriac: ܐܵܕ݂ܵܡ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis, the Qur'an and the Kitáb-i-Íqán. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim ("Yahweh-God", the god of Israel), though the term "adam" can refer to both the first individual person, as well as to the general creation of humankind. Christian churches differ on how they view Adam's subsequent behavior (often called the Fall of man), and to the consequences that those actions had on the rest of humanity. Christian and Jewish teachings sometimes hold Adam and Eve (the first woman) to a different level of responsibility for the Fall, though Islamic teaching holds both equally responsible. In addition, Islam holds that Adam was eventually forgiven, while Christianity holds that redemption occurred only later through the sacrifice of God's son, Jesus Christ. Bahá'í Faith, Islam and some Christian denominations consider Adam to be the first Prophet.

Luke Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer. Bryan began his musical career in the mid-2000s, writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington. After signing with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007, he released the album I'll Stay Me, which included the singles "All My Friends Say", "We Rode in Trucks" and "Country Man". Followup album Doin' My Thing included "Do I", which Bryan co-wrote with Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and the number one singles "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby". Tailgates & Tanlines, released in 2011, includes "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and his third number one, "I Don't Want This Night to End". Bryan co-wrote all of his singles with the exception of "Drunk on You" and co-produced all three albums with Jeff Stevens.

Bryan was born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia. At age fourteen, his parents bought him his first guitar, and after learning to play it, he joined various local bands and began to play in local clubs. After graduating Lee County High School, Bryan planned to move to Nashville, Tennessee; however, this move was delayed, due to the death of his brother, Chris, on the same day he planned to leave. Luke attended Georgia Southern University, and is a member of the Eta Zeta chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. After graduation Luke went to work for his dad, despite everyone encouraging him to move to Tennessee. His dad encouraged him to relocate and he arrived in Nashville in 2001, signing a record deal only two months later.

Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981) is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted 29th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 amateur draft. He made his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on September 11, 2005 against the New York Mets.

A highly valued prospect coming out of Glynn Academy, Wainwright planned to play college baseball for Georgia Tech, signing a letter of intent with the Yellow Jackets.^{[citation needed]} But, when he was selected 29th overall in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft by his favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, Wainwright chose to forgo college and go straight to the pros, signing a contract with the Braves that included a $1.25 million bonus.

In December 2003, Wainwright was sent to the Cardinals along with pitchers Jason Marquis and Ray King in a trade that sent outfielder J. D. Drew and utility man Eli Marrero to the Atlanta Braves. After two somewhat uneven seasons in the Cardinals' minor-league system, Wainwright made his MLB debut for St. Louis on September 11, 2005.

Yu Darvish (also spelled Yū Darvish) (Japanese: ダルビッシュ 有; born August 16, 1986, in Habikino, Osaka) is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team. He was considered by many to be the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball prior to his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2012.

Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, to an Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefat, and a Japanese mother, Ikuyo. His parents met at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his father played for the college soccer team. His grandfather was a travel agent in Iran, and sent Farsad to the United States in 1977 to attend high school in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he also raced competitively in motocross.

Darvish began playing baseball in second grade and led his team to the quarter-finals of the national tournament as well as a third-place finish in the international tournament as a member of the Habikino Boys. He was scouted by over 50 high schools while in junior high, but opted to attend Tohoku High School, a noted baseball powerhouse that produced players such as former Seattle Mariners and Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and current Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Takashi Saito, in northern Sendai.