Keller @ Large: Family More Important Than Money

BOSTON (CBS) -- Adam LaRoche has $13 million left on his contract with the Chicago White Sox. Make that - had.

After team officials told him he could no longer bring his young son to work with him for long stretches of the season as he's been doing for years, LaRoche retired, saying in a tweet: "Thank u Lord for the game of baseball and for giving me way more than I ever deserved! #family first."

For Lowell businessman and father of three Jim Hogan, LaRoche's decision is validation of the family-work life balance he insists on for himself and his employees.

"You don't want them to be absentee parents. It's not good for the child, it's not good for the family, it's not good for the business if that's how they are," he says. "[LaRoche] stood up for his family first and that's huge. I think that speaks a lot for the man."

Obviously, it's impractical for every parent to bring their child to work with them as often as LaRoche did, although it never seemed to be a problem over the years he's been doing it. But others we spoke with at a St. Patrick's Day time in Lowell shared Hogan's take on LaRoche's stand.

"When I started my own law practice, one of the motivating factors was I wanted a place where I could freely bring my children," said Lowell Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.

We asked Dracut Town Manager Jim Duggan: Could you ever see yourself walking away from $13 million over an issue like this?

"You know what? My daughter's worth a lot more than that so I would, absolutely," he says.

And for Gov. Charlie Baker, whose kids are now grown, the LaRoche story is part of a trend.

"There's far more job-sharing than there ever used to be, there are a lot more people who are willing to let folks work from home," he says.

"Money isn't everything."