No doubt, you’ve read and heard plenty about Adam LaRoche’s sudden retirement from the White Sox because they changed their minds about how much time LaRoche’s son Drake could spend in the Sox clubhouse. Drake LaRoche, multiple people say, was with the team about 120 games during the 2015 season. Every. Single. Day. Uh, school anyone? As a Tiger, “we had a lot more than one kid running around”.
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It was against that backdrop that White Sox VP Ken Williams advised him to significantly scale back the amount time his son spent with the team in the clubhouse and then told not to bring him to the ballpark at all, LaRoche wrote.
In the wake of the news of LaRoche’s departure, the team’s general manager, Kenny Williams, asserted that he had asked LaRoche not to bring his 14-year-old son Drake to practice every day, but now LaRoche is disputing that account. But there’s no way I’d bring him to work every day, even if I did make millions as a ballplayer.
This is an unfortunate way for a career to come to an end, but LaRoche will always be remembered not just for his 12-year stay in the big leagues, but also for how he handled himself in what can only be described as an impossible situation.
Later Friday, in a statement released to the media, Reinsdorf said the White Sox “continue to feel that it would be premature to comment at this time”. After some due diligence on the club’s part, we reached an agreement. I’m sure the. 207 batting average had nothing to do with this decision either.
Williams had the final of several discussions with LaRoche on Sunday, which prompted the veteran to stay away home Monday. “He went to the coaches and said it was the players”. He said Darren and Drake helped him keep perspective that he was playing a game and called Drake “a pleasure to have in the clubhouse” and “a delight to be around”. “We all think this kid is a great young man. I just felt it should not be every day, that’s all”.
So, if you’re keeping score, for the last three years Adam LaRoche has provided his son with a life that is way cooler than anything any of us could ever imagine, and for the record yes, I’m totally jealous. “I respect that, and all I ask is for that same level of respect in return”.
If the White Sox can be derailed by a disagreement over a teammate’s 14-year-old son, how in the name of Charles Comiskey can they be tough enough to handle the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers in the AL Central? That would be quite extreme and possibly farfetched, but at this stage, has the players’ reaction to LaRoche leaving been reasonable? I have tried to set a good example on and off the field and live a life that represents these values. It’s their choice to do what they want to do, and I think it’s got to be a 100 percent player vote, too.
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Others could understand the reasoning put forward by Williams. It’s been said that players are often closer to each other than to their families during the season; that’s one thing that builds up team chemistry. Do we act based on the consequences, or do we act on what we know and believe in our hearts to be right? “It’s not like I haven’t seen it. But that’s part of baseball”.
