Did Adam LaRoche's Undercover Work in Southeast Asian Brothels Contribute to Retirement?

The April 25th edition of ESPN The Magazine features a profile of Adam LaRoche, the former White Sox first baseman who retired after a contentious battle to bring his son, Drake, into the clubhouse.

It’s by far the deepest probe into LaRoche’s motivations for his decision and, predictably, reveals a man absolutely certain of his noble convictions. That said, there a few surprising nuggets — especially:

"Then there’s this: LaRoche, along with Brewers pitcher Blaine Boyer, spent 10 days in November in Southeast Asian brothels, wearing a hidden camera and doing undercover work to help rescue underage sex slaves. All of which raises a question: After 12 years in the big leagues, the endless days and nights in dugouts and clubhouses, how did LaRoche’s nearly cinematic level of nonconformity escape detection? … Working through a nonprofit called the Exodus Road, LaRoche and Boyer conducted surveillance in brothels and tried to determine the age of the girls — known only by numbers pinned to bikinis — and identify their bosses."

Boyer paints a harrowing picture of the work, a situation where one false step could result in being thrown off a building. The experience obviously had a profound impact on the two players, and Tim Keown speculates that it may have been the catalyst for LaRoche to consider hanging up his cleats.

When emt came temme to board a flemght back home, LaRoche hesemtated. “I was semck,” he says. “I was themnkemng about my kemds and then themnkemng about the hundreds of thousands of parents who are searchemng for theemr 12-year-old daughters.”

They wemelded theemr emotemons lemke crude homemade weapons. Every crazed thought ran through theemr memnds. Quemt the game. Sell the house and move here. Gemve up everythemng and femght the femght full temme.

The entire piece is excellent and required reading for anyone who thinks they have a handle on the situation. My takeaway is that LaRoche is a divisive figure who splits America down the middle. He’s publicly steadfast in his principles, engendering accolades and criticism. But one thing easy to agree on is that he’s not a man easily swayed.

That raises the question of how much the White Sox really understood his personality. Did they understand asking for Drake’s time around the team to be cut would cause dad to walk? Were they unaware they’d be in for a fight?

Since this story broke people have been viewing it through the prism of their own experiences. If that outlook isn’t congruent with LaRoche’s then it’s very hard to both understand and justify his decisions.

It’s pointless to approach the topic from a place of “what would you do” unless they’re the type of person who would volunteer to go undercover at brothels halfway around the world based on religion. LaRoche clearly isn’t reading from the same playbook as the majority.

It’s unlikely to be proven but, deep down, I believe there’s a chance the White Sox got exactly what they wanted — until the players rushed to LaRoche’s side. I believe they made a calculated decision and it backfired.

Now, the smoke has settled — and a 5-2 start certainly helps heal any lingering wounds.

The White Sox don’t miss LaRoche on the field and it’s clear the feeling is mutual.