Adam LaRoche’s son Drake has been at the White Sox clubhouse every day during spring. He is homeschooled so that allows him to be with his father as much as he wants. Adam was given permission to have his son at camp every day. It’s not common to have a family member have unlimited access, but it seemed that Drake’s presence was not a disturbance to the team.

General manager Kenny Williams thought that maybe this unlimited access was too much and asked Adam about reducing it in half. Instead of the two trying to compromise, LaRoche retired.

I have given this some thought and I think both are right.

For starters, LaRoche is family first so if he felt that his son was disrespected, he felt that he did what was right. If he couldn’t see his son daily at work, then leaving work was the right choice for him.

At the same time, Williams sees this as work and wanted to at least keep it professional on some level. His request to reduce the visits isn’t outrageous. It’s completely understandable.

What I don’t understand is why LaRoche just retired instead of possibly trying to compromise. Or how he felt that his situation warranted a major exception.

And if Williams and manager Robin Ventura had initially approved of these unlimited visits, why change it now?

Both sides have fine arguments for this case. I am leaning towards management in a sense that they were looking out for the club first. But LaRoche did feel that the team turned back on their initial agreement.

Whose side are you on?