The Chicago White Sox vs. Adam LaRoche

Much has been made recently about the situation going on with the Chicago White Sox & Adam LaRoche and his son Drake being at practices. The White Sox recently asked LaRoche to dial back his son’s time at the teams spring training facilities but instead of dialing it back LaRoche made the ultimate decision to retire. With his retirement LaRoche left $13 million on the table in the process. So the question remains which side are you on The White Sox or LaRoche’s

I would have to side with the White Sox organization in this particular case. This is the first case that I’ve personally heard of that a child was in the locker room environment day in or day out. It’s not the most comfortable thing to be in a locker room with the presence of kids each and every single day. Baseball provides a work experience that an everyday job has no comparison to offer which is the ability and the environment to have the kids in every day. It’s one thing to bring the kids to visit a few days at a time but, it’s a totally different discussion when it becomes such a presence that Adam’s son Drake has his own locker next to his father’s. To me I just think it’s a lil bit too much accessibility within the organization.

Adam LaRoche’s decision to retire is admirably as a family man but it also shows the fact that he quit on his teammates and the organization. But to me he over reacted to a decision that most organizations would’ve made the same call on. It’s a privilege not a right to be able to have your son in the locker room with day in and day out. He should’ve known or at least had a foresight to see that some players and people within the organization were going to feel a level of uncomfortably of having a kid in there every single day.

I have absolutely no problem with the organization’s stance on the matter. It’s not common at the work place to have one’s child there each and every day. A normal regular 9 to 5 job wouldn’t allow one of its workers to have their kids there each and every day. For him to overuse a privilege athletes have with having their kids there is something that I don’t agree with. To me it’s not like the organization was giving him a mandate on when and where he couldn’t have his kid there with him. They just asked something simple of him which was to use discretion and not have him there every day just every once in a while would’ve done the trick. To walk away for $13 million says more about where LaRoche stands as a father which is very commendable. But in my opinion he shouldn’t have just up & quit on his teammates and the organization that he also grew up within