So says Adam LaRoche, who’d rather retire and spend more time with his son than be paid $13,000,000 by the White Sox. Good for him!
Spending too much time with is son at work. All he was asked was not to bring his kid to work every. damn. day. Not unreasonable. IMO, it’s unreasonable to bring your kid to work every day.
Good for him? Sure, whatever. He has the money to quit a job where he doesn’t want to follow the rules or do what management asks. Most of us don’t.
Most of us don’t get to play a game for work, either.
I support his decision to retire because of it. He can afford to, and I’ll do the same as soon as I can afford to (ok, so never).
I also support the White Sox on drawing the line. I’d think some of the other players might be getting tired of constantly filtering their speech and behavior for a kid in the room. If LaRoche was screwing up, would another player be willing to call him on it with his son next to him? Would the coach? It would be pretty cool to have some of my coworkers’ kids around every now and then. But as Rhiannon8404 says, not every damn day.
I’m really tired of these kinds of comments, where people judge a job by just its most visible part (thereby making it look a lot more trivial than it is). The job of a major league baseball player isn’t just playing a game; it’s also spending hours and hours practicing and working out and watching video and traveling and talking to reporters, not to mention all the dues-paying that has to happen before you even get to the major leagues.
That said, LaRoche is indeed giving up a pretty sweet gig for what seems a piddly-ass reason.
I can’t believe there is even a debate here.
The White Sox did the right thing, and every other team is glad they did. If LaRoche was not white, this would have been ugly. But since he’s white, the line has been drawn and no one can scream “racism” when their little spawns are not permitted in the locker room.
Too bad the Giants didn’t stand up to Dusty Baker and (was it Barry Bonds?) who had their kids running all over the field during the post season many years ago. I thought that ended the practice, but apparently not.
None of that means that it isn’t a game.
The son in question is 14.
Not the same as when J.T. Snow pulled Darren baker (age 4!) away from a possible steam-rolling.
I should have read the article before posting, but the White Sox were and have been incredibly reasonable with this.
Maybe LaRoche would have tossed aside his #familyfirst if he wasn’t coming off a .207, 12 HR season. His skills were deteriorating fast, and I suspect he knew he wasn’t going to get any better this season. At least without some “help” from a lab somewhere.
You don’t walk away from $13 million just like that. There is more to this story that we will probably never know.
I saw that, and still think the White Sox were correct.
However, if LaRoche’s son was a batboy or something, fine. Still, the kid should not have to be in the locker room and around the players every day. There is a time and a place for that, and it seems the White Sox have been pretty accommodating to their players.
I don’t comprehend. The kid is 14, why is he not in school? Why is he at the clubhouse every day?
As an adult, I don’t want a 14 YO hanging around all day, every day. If I was a parent, I don’t know if that’s the atmosphere I’d subject my kid to, either, all day, every day.
I have a soft spot for Laroche from his time on the Nats. You’d see him and his son at batting practice at games. Laroche’s father was a player and then coach and Laroche grew up hanging out in the park, Adam has said his son will learn more being life skills being with him at the ball park than in some class room. I think I read somewhere that they home school their kids.
The fact that Laroche hit .207 last year probably made his decision to retire a little easier.
Shouldn’t a 14 year old boy be learning about physics and javascript and organic chemistry, and falling in love with the girl from homeroom (as I did - god bless Megan)?
Within reason, every parent should be able to discipline their child as they see fit. Laroche chose to force his son to attend White Sox games. Who are we to judge?
Never heard of this athlete in my life and while I like the gesture, it is odd to bring a kid to work daily. I’m amazed it was allowed more than once in a blue moon.
Weekday baseball games usually start around 7 PM, so the players don’t get to the stadium until the afternoon. In fact, here’s an article saying LaRoche gets there between 2:30 and 3:30, presumably after his son finishes school. There are occasional 1 PM or 4 PM games, but I’d assume his son doesn’t go to those. And of course half the season takes place during the summer.
I’ve heard it reported that the kid was home schooled. The kid even had a locker with his name on it right next to Daddy’s.
I have also heard it reported that this was generally supported by the players. However, if even one player objected, I agree that it should have been stopped. The clubhouse is the player’s sanctuary, and must be respected.
The PBS tv station in Chicago reported on this last night with a graphic that stated: Leave your kid at home day.
First of all, that LaRoche was set to make $13M is outrageous. That he wants to retire because the White Sox don’t want his kid in the clubhouse every single day, I couldn’t care less. That’s what he wants to do that’s his prerogative. He’s financially set. He’s got his priorities. I think the White Sox made a reasonable request. There’s no bad guy here. Just a difference of opinion, I guess.
I can certainly believe that a significant number, maybe even a majority, of players were OK with it. But I’ll bet some of those who publicly support LaRoche were actually a little resentful, and are happy with the decision. No one wants to be the one to complain about a kid and a respected veteran.