The Chicago White Sox and their clubhouse policy has been
under fire here in recent weeks after the abrupt retirement of first baseman
and DH Adam LaRoche. The White Sox signed LaRoche to a free agent contract and
had one more year remaining on the deal before LaRoche decided to retire at the
end of last week over a squabble with the White Sox front office. LaRoche had a
clause written into his free agency contract that stated his son, Drake
LaRoche, could be in the clubhouse and with his father during games in the
regular season but the White Sox President Kenny Williams asked LaRoche to
“dial it back” with his son. This angered LaRoche and many of his teammates,
most notably ace Chris Sale, causing the ruckus to explode. This has given the
White Sox organization a black eye of sorts but this kind of thing won’t be
happening in the Bronx.
Brian Cashman was asked about the incident this week and how
the Yankees would approach a potential squabble like this and Cashman squashed
any idea before it even started. Cashman was quoted as saying “the entire
facility is our facility and we control it. We control the rules governing that
facility. So, that’s the policy.” Cashman went on to continue saying “we
provide some latitudes because we try to create a good working environment for
our people as well as an opportunity for a family to intermix, but it’s a
workplace.”
Cashman went on to stipulate that the New York Yankees owned
that workplace and owned that clubhouse, that dugout, that field and that
training room and it’s the New York Yankees that dictate access to these
facilities. Not the players. Isn’t that the way it should be? To be fair though
the White Sox did dictate that access for Drake when they signed LaRoche and
put it in his contract that he could have his son in the clubhouse and on the
field with them. They dictated it and then they took that dictation away and
that’s what angered so many.
The Yankees allow players to have their sons in the
clubhouse after games, win or lose, and allow the players to have their
families at the ballpark earlier in the day. The children and families must be
gone before the team takes the field for batting practice though which I feel
is more than fair for all sides and parties.
Gladly manager Joe Girardi’s family-friendly attitude and
the rules set forth will likely keep this from ever becoming an issue in New
York. One would hope anyway.
