The Drake LaRoche Story

[Kel Varnsen]

Have you guys been following this? It's so bizarre.

Adam LaRoche Retired Because The White Sox Wouldn't Let His Kid Hang Out In The Clubhouse Every Day

On Tuesday, Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche announced, much to the relief of White Sox fans, that he would retire from baseball. It now appears that his decision was related less to his inability to hit at a major league level or to injuries than to his 14-year-old son, Drake. According to Ken Rosenthal, LaRoche walked away from the team because team vice-president Kenny Williams asked him to not bring a teen into the clubhouse every damn day.

http://deadspin.com/adam-laroche-retired-because-the-white-sox-wouldnt-let-1765311014

Follow-up stories are coming out daily, it seems. I can't figure out what to make of it, but I think if I was on the team, it would probably bother me to have a kid there all the time, to be honest.

 

[devilalum]

If he was batting .330 the Drake would have his own locker.

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[82CardsGrad]

From what I gathered, it sounds there could be an "issue" with his son... I could be wrong as I'm just reading into some comments made by LaRoche... But more importantly, it seems he and Kenny Williams had this agreement at the start of spring training. And the. Williams went back on his word...

 

[Beaver]

There are stories saying the players were the ones complaining and Williams finally did something about it. I don't blame them.

 

[GatorAZ]

Was he dippin' with dad too?

 

[BC867]

From what I gathered, it sounds there could be an "issue" with his son... I could be wrong as I'm just reading into some comments made by LaRoche... But more importantly, it seems he and Kenny Williams had this agreement at the start of spring training. And the. Williams went back on his word...

Williams said that he wanted Adam to cut back, not cut it out completely, because the players reacted. It sounds like with LaRoche, it was all or nothing.

I can see a locker room full of jocks feeling inhibited with a kid around.

 

[cardfaninfl]

I can see a locker room full of jocks feeling inhibited with a kid around.

Professional team locker rooms have not been a Safe Space for jocks in over 60 years. The number of reporters, family members, organization employees, etc., flow in like it is a shopping mall food court. Of course there are designated spaces and the occasional locked doors, but a kid hanging around and fetching your sunflower seeds is difficult to imagine as a problem.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Professional team locker rooms have not been a Safe Space for jocks in over 60 years. The number of reporters, family members, organization employees, etc., flow in like it is a shopping mall food court. Of course there are designated spaces and the occasional locked doors, but a kid hanging around and fetching your sunflower seeds is difficult to imagine as a problem.

It sounds like it was a lot more than that. Hard to figure out all the facts, though.

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[PDXChris]

From everything out there, it looks like Williams asked him to cut back and he agreed, then a few days later Williams banned the kid and that is when he retired. Also, it sounds like he has been bringing him for a few years now and even had his own locker in Washington and now Chicago. Lastly, Sale came out and said the players were never asked and love the kid and that Williams did all of this on his own and is no longer welcome in the locker room.

 

[Phrazbit]

Well, it saved the club about 14 million. The guy might get a bonus!

 

[PDXChris]


Chris Sale had two Adam LaRoche jerseys hanging at his locker Friday, one signed with a message from the veteran slugger and the other with a message from 14-year-old Drake LaRoche. Pedro Gomez/ESPN

LaRoche's situation came to a head when White Sox ace Chris Sale said Friday that he and his teammates were lied to by Williams.

Sale said Williams has told three different stories on why the decision was made to limit Drake LaRoche's access to the clubhouse, prompting his father to leave the team and a contract that would have paid him $13 million this season.

"Somebody walked out of those doors the other day, and it was the wrong guy," Sale said.

Sale contends that Williams has contradicted himself, first saying that players complained about LaRoche's son being in the clubhouse, then saying it was coaches who spoke against it and then saying the decision came down from ownership.

"We got bald-faced lied to by someone that we trust," Sale said.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...jerry-reinsdorf-closes-door-adam-laroche-saga

 

[cardncubfan]

If he was batting .330 the Drake would have his own locker.

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Drake does/did have his own locker which imo is part of the problem.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Drake does/did have his own locker which imo is part of the problem.

Imagine if Antonio Cromartie had this kind of thing in his contract.

 

[PDXChris]

Imagine if Antonio Cromartie had this kind of thing in his contract.

It would take him too long to remember all of the kids names, so a contract would never get done.

 

[devilalum]

Drake does/did have his own locker which imo is part of the problem.

But Dad's not battin .330.

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