2001 Fleer Triple Crown, Greg LaRocca

#289 Greg LaRocca

Here is the first Padrograph of 2001. This one features Greg LaRocca, who has 39 games of Major League experience with the Padres and Indians. In 88 big league at-bats, Greg hit .261 with no homers, 6 doubles, and 6 RBI. 2003 was his last season in the Majors.

Since then, he has played for three different Japanese teams. According to The Baseball Cube, Greg tore up the Central League in 2004 with Hiroshima. He hit .328 with 40 home runs and 101 RBI. That's pretty interesting considering that the most home runs he hit in a season in the minors was 15. Since that breakout season in 2004, the most home runs that he has hit was 27 in 2007. Last year with Orix, he played in 74 games and hit .287 with 12 homers and 43 RBI.

This card is the only Fleer Triple Crown card that I own and it is an interesting card. Don't be fooled by the UD Masterpieces-like white border. This card is 100% glossy, like most cards from 2001. Plus, all the info on the front, except for the Fleer logo, is gold foil. His name, positions (one spelled out and one abbreviated), number, and team are all foil as well as the Triple Crown logo and the prospect stamp. I don't think I ever noticed the prospect stamp until yesterday. But overall, it's not a bad looking card. If I had more of them, I would definitely consider getting them signed.