Adam LaRoche’s Statement Claims He Was Told Not To Bring His Son To The Ballpark At All

Adam LaRoche’s unexpected retirement from baseball and the fallout in its wake has quickly become the biggest story of Spring Training. Through it all, the veteran first baseman has remained quiet to the public.

On Friday, LaRoche finally shed some light on his decision and what prompted it. In his written statement, the 36-year-old addressed the controversy that arose after White Sox team president Ken Williams asked LaRoche to stop bringing his 14-year-old son to the ballpark so often.

Williams claimed that he asked LaRoche to ‘dial back’ Drake’s access to the clubhouse, saying he didn’t think it the boy “should be here 100 percent of the time,” but insisted that it wasn’t a complete ban. However, LaRoche’s statement sings a different tune:

I’m not going to speak about my son Drake’s behavior, his manners, and the quality of person that he is, because everyone knows that I am biased. All of the statements from my teammates, past and present, should say enough. Those comments from all of the people who have interacted with Drake are a testimony to how he carries himself.

Prior to signing with the White Sox, my first question to the club concerned my son’s ability to be a part of the team. After some due diligence on the club’s part, we reached an agreement. The 2015 season presented no problems as far as Drake was concerned. (My bat and our record are another story!)

With all of this in mind, we move toward the current situation which arose after White Sox VP Ken Williams recently advised me to significantly scale back the time that my son spent in the clubhouse. (emphasis mine) Later, I was told not to bring him to the ballpark at all. Obviously, I expressed my displeasure toward this decision to alter the agreement we had reached before I signed with the White Sox.

This story becomes a very different one if LaRoche was indeed asked to not bring his son around the team at all, and it would help explain why his teammates were so upset following the news of his retirement this week.

Either way, it’s become clear that this whole story is a result of a fundamental disagreement between two men — LaRoche and Williams — and that one of them is lying about how the situation developed.