Written by Ken Davidoff at NewYorkPost.com
Barring a change of heart, White Sox veteran Adam LaRoche is taking his bat and glove — and his son — and heading home.
LaRoche, the designated hitter and first baseman, appears poised to retire, and give up the $13 million he would have earned this season, because the White Sox recently asked him to dramatically decrease the frequency of his 14-year-old son Drake’s visits to the clubhouse.
Ken Williams, the White Sox president, confirmed this to The Post in a text message on Wednesday. Earlier Wednesday, Williams told FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that he said to the 36-year-old LaRoche, “All I’m asking you to do with regard to bringing your kid to the ballpark is dial it back.”
Williams continued, “I don’t think he should be here 100 percent of the time — and he has been here 100 percent, every day, in the clubhouse. I said that I don’t even think he should be here 50 percent of the time. Figure it out, somewhere in between.
“We all think his kid is a great young man. I just felt it should not be every day, that’s all. You tell me, where in this country can you bring your child to work every day?”
LaRoche’s representatives at Relativity Baseball didn’t return requests for comment. On Tuesday, when word first broke of LaRoche’s retirement, LaRoche tweeted the following:
Thank u Lord for the game of baseball and for giving me way more than I ever deserved!
#FamilyFirst
Though the White Sox can’t enjoy being thrust in the spotlight over such an emotional issue, they also can’t be terribly disappointed if LaRoche follows through and retires. After signing a two-year, $25 million contract with the Chisox, leaving the Nationals and his unofficial role of Mets-killer, LaRoche put up a miserable .207/.293/.340 slash line with the White Sox last season, knocking just 12 home runs in 429 at-bats. If he gives up his entire $13 million paycheck — he has made $71.8 million over the course of his career, according to baseball-reference.com — it will provide the White Sox with a windfall of financial flexibility as well as a spot in the lineup to rotate in younger, more productive hitters such as former Yankee Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia.
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