Despite Adam LaRoche debate, baseball dads love having kids in clubhouse
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Prince Fielder walked into the Texas Rangers clubhouse on Thursday like he often does: With two kids in tow.
He started rifling through his locker, pulling out two pairs of shorts. He handed one to Haven, who turns 10 on Monday, then another to older brother Jadyn, 11. Within a few minutes, the boys were dressed. Rangers T-shirts, shorts, sliding pants, socks and, after a little more rifling around in the locker, baseball caps.
“You need a hat,” Fielder commanded. “And you need to go put on sunscreen.”
This is the portrait of the big-league dad. The other Rangers in the clubhouse are crowded around a TV, watching Yale upset Baylor in the NCAA tournament. And Fielder is making sure his sons pick up their socks and don’t get sunburns.
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Nobody in the game right now might have a better perspective than Prince Fielder about baseball players bringing their kids into the clubhouse — the controversy sparked this week when Adam LaRoche told the Chicago White Sox he’d rather retire than reduce the number of days his son Drake tagged along with him to work.
Just like his sons, Prince grew up in the game, shadowing his home-run hitting father, Cecil Fielder. When Prince had kids, he brought them around as soon as they learned to behave themselves. That was a little sooner for Jadyn than it was for Haven because, well, you know how little brothers can be excitable.
“Now that they’re at this age, whenever they’re with me, they’re coming,” Fielder says, after the kids have run off. “We’re never around as much as we want because we’re working. This is the best: You can bring ‘em to work and enjoy ‘em a bit.”
In LaRoche’s case, the White Sox asked that he reduce the amount of time Drake spent with the team. Prior to that request, Drake was there whenever his dad was. And he has been throughout Adam’s career. So much so that he was called the 26th man when LaRoche played for the Washington Nationals.
White Sox president Kenny Williams said the team didn’t change its policy of allowing players’ children to hang around the team, he just asked LaRoche to “dial it back.” LaRoche said he’d quit baseball (with $13 million left on his contract, mind you) before he cut back Drake’s time with the team.
It’s a fascinating dilemma, partially because any working parent can relate to the tug between the office and his or her offspring. But also because baseball has long been a game of fathers and sons. Most of them play catch in the backyard, but a rare few of them get to do it on big-league diamonds. The big names you know — the Bondses, the Griffeys, the Ripkens, the Fielders.
“Fortunately for me, I’ve played on teams where the manager doesn’t care, nobody cares, as long as [the kids] are respectful,” Fielder said. “That’s the key. If the kids are nice and all the fellas get along with them, there’s no problem. If your kid’s acting up, you just gotta let them know.”
[Elsewhere: Why Adam LaRoche, White Sox are both right in a scenario that’s all wrong]
In the Rangers clubhouse Thursday, Shin-Soo Choo’s oldest son, Alan, was nearby while his dad took batting practice, then he tagged along with the clubbies as they hung pants in every player’s locker. Choo lets his sons come to the clubhouse, but they have to help out. Fielder tells his kids to have fun, be good and stay out of the way, which they do, though Dad’s teammates happily allow them into the baseball fraternity.
When Jadyn and Haven walked in, Ike Davis greeted them immediately with, “Hey, guys, did you have a good off day?”
“We were at school,” Jadyn answered.
“I wish I had studied harder when I was your age,” Davis responded, winning points with every parent within earshot.
Things have changed since Terry Francona, the Cleveland Indians manager, was a kid. His dad, Tito, played in the big leagues from 1956-70, and in those days, kids could come to the ballpark but they couldn’t go into the clubhouse. Terry would hang out in the stands and soak things up. As a big-league manager in an age where kids in the clubhouse is far more accepted, he’s welcoming but realistic.
“The guys are at the ballpark so much, I think it’s really nice that their kids can come to the ballpark with them,” Francona said. “But I’ve always also put in the rules that our clubhouse guys aren’t babysitters. They don’t run a childcare. But I fall on the side that I like to have the kids coming around.”
When he managed the Red Sox from 2004-11, Francona made a rule: Any kids that came to the clubhouse had to come say hi to him. That’s how he developed relationships with two other well-known baseball kids – Victor Jose Martinez, the son of Victor Martinez, and Adrian Beltre Jr.
“They’d pop their head in every day,” Francona said. “I got a kick out of it. I explained to [their dads], though, that they have a responsibility to make sure that the kids are behaving themselves and doing what they’re supposed to be. After a game, if we lost, you have to remember the guy sitting next to you might have got the loss as a pitcher. You don’t want some kid firing a wiffle ball at his head.”
Having the experience of hanging out with his own big-league dad influences Francona, there’s no question. You won’t find any kid lucky enough to spend his days with a pro sports team who grew up and hated it. But it’s more than just the fun and games. It’s feeling like you’re a part of your dad’s hectic lifestyle — and baseball is more taxing than any sport in that respect.
“I always felt like even though my dad was 3,000 miles away, he really wasn’t,” Francona said.
LaRoche is like Francona and Fielder. He grew up with a father in the big leagues. Dave LaRoche pitched 14 years, indoctrinating Adam and his brother, Andy, into the clubhouse life. Adam chose the same for Drake, though his case is more extreme than any kid we’ve seen in baseball. Drake was, by all accounts, well behaved and well liked. But he was always there. Always.
[Elsewhere: White Sox reportedly nearly boycotted game over Adam LaRoche’s son]
That’s partially why the LaRoche story has inspired so much debate. Williams defended himself by saying: “You tell me, where in this country can you bring your child to work every day?” It’s a point that’s resonated with people all across the country, because he’s right in that no other occupation would allow that.
But people in baseball will tell you that’s because baseball is different.
“Guys work hard to get into a big-league clubhouse, their kids should be able to hang out,” said Will Venable, an outfielder with the Cleveland Indians whose dad Max had a 12-year MLB career. “That’s not the same as an office. You don’t grow up in the backyard doing office work. It doesn’t have that social value.”
Joba Chamberlain brings his 9-year-old son Karter to the clubhouse and has even asked Karter to help him decide which teams to sign with. When Chamberlain signed with the Tigers prior to the 2015 season, one of the deciding factors was Karter’s friendship with Victor Martinez’s son. Even when it comes to the kids, the clubhouse is its own ecosystem.
“Our families sacrifice so much for us to play this game,” Chamberlain said. “The time we get to be around our kids is such a valuable commodity. It’s a special game, a game where we get to hang out with 25 of our brothers and get to know them. My son has had so many men around him that have been great influences. I think that’s what Adam was trying to create for his son.”
[Elsewhere: Chris Sale screamed at Kenny Williams during Adam LaRoche meeting]
In the Rangers clubhouse, the sometimes surly, sometimes smiley Beltre occasionally plays the role of taskmaster if it’s time for the kids to leave the clubhouse. But he, at the same time, relishes his moments with his 9-year-old son Adrian Jr., who people call A.J.
“We have rules internally, so I know what the rules are,” Beltre said. “As a team here, we try to keep it acceptable for everybody. Yes, we love to have our kids around, but we know we have to follow some rules.
“Just having that experience to be here in the big-league clubhouse,” Beltre said, “every dad who has a chance to bring his kid around should do that. I just see how much he enjoys it and that’s a joy for me.”
So, here’s a question: What if one of these big-league dads found themselves in the same situation as Adam LaRoche? What would they do?
Prince Fielder can’t even imagine.
“It definitely would suck when your son is going every day and something, all of a sudden, has to change,” he said. “Not so much for you, but for your kid. If I had to break it to him: ‘Hey, you can’t come with me no more.’ I think I would cry more than him just seeing his face.”
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
