The Adam LaRoche-White Sox Contretemps Is Really About Something Else

"If the phone doesn't ring, it's me." --Jimmy Buffett


By now you are awash in the details about 1B/DH Adam LaRoche leaving a guaranteed $13 million and a spot on the White Sox roster because they told him his teenage son wasn't welcome in the clubhouse everyday. If you haven't heard about it, read this Chicago Tribune article from March 18 and this report by the local Chicago NBC TV station three days later.

The outline of the situation is this: LaRoche believed he had an oral agreement with the Sox to bring his son into the clubhouse every day. 14-year-old Drake LaRoche had a uniform and a locker and was a beloved team member, according to most players. White Sox president Kenny Williams says that some team members have privately expressed their displeasure at having a child in the clubhouse and he asked LaRoche to scale it back with Drake.

And so, we can all agree that the White Sox have the right to determine workplace rules and have a responsibility to the entire team, not just Adam LaRoche. And we can admire that LaRoche would sacrifice so much to be with his son.

But this is not about familial relations or clubhouse dynamics or Drake himself. It's not about LaRoche's performance, which was dismal last year in his age-35 season and, if repeated, would clog a roster spot and consume $13 million.

This is about organizational dynamics and in particular about communication. Dissertations and books have been written describing the importance of open and honest organizational communication; about ensuring that loops of communication get closed, that lines of communication run up and down hierarchies, that communication be consistent in content throughout an organization, and that communication cross platforms so that people can learn information with whichever sense works best for them. 

The problem in Chicago appears to be this: the team had a poorly articulated policy that applied to everyone but Adam LaRoche. Whether one or more people expressed dismay over the exception or management simply got tired of it, Williams apparently communicated that in a confused and inconsistent way. LaRoche, who believed the team had broached a clearly understood agreement with him, evidently felt betrayed.

The fallout was public chest pounding by key ballclub figures like Chris Sale and, I'm willing to bet, private muttering by others in defense of the team, all of which amounts to a further breakdown in open, honest communication.

Will this harm the White Sox's performance on the field in 2016? It certainly can't help, but baseball is less a team game than a game of combined individual actions. It's likely to fade away over the long slog of the season, unless the issue of clubhouse visitors pops out of its molehill again. LaRoche performed below replacement level last season, so if his replacement flashes even modest competence his on-field contributions will be easily forgotten.