Rowand returning to Chicago White Sox as minor-league instructor
Like many veteran major-league baseball players, Aaron Rowand headed home to be with his family after retiring in 2011.
Being away for so many springs, summers and falls weighed on Rowand, and he is happy for the time he has been able to spend with his wife, Marianne, and two children.
"One of the reasons that I stopped playing and didn't continue on was the age of my children and having them growing up for the first half of their childhood with me basically gone most of the time," Rowand said.
"It really made my decision fairly easy to be home, be a dad, be around them more."
Rowand has been trying to find a way to keep on being a good dad while scratching the baseball itch, and it all came together Monday.
A popular, talented and gritty center fielder for the Chicago White Sox from 2001-05, Rowand is returning as the organization's minor-league outfield and baserunning instructor.
He replaces Doug Sisson, who exited after three years to be an assistant coach at Auburn.
"When this job came up and I was able to kind of be doing what I really enjoy doing in coaching and being around baseball, and also being able to do the father thing and be home during the season half the time, there's really not a better job in baseball than that," Rowand said.
Rowand is looking forward to helping mold young White Sox prospects into future major-leaguers.
"It's great," he said. "If you ask any coach what's the most important thing about coaching, it's being able to communicate. And as most of you know, I don't have much of a problem with that.
"If you can't relate and communicate to who you're trying to coach, it doesn't matter how much knowledge you have, you're not going to be a very good coach."
In five seasons with the Sox, Rowand batted .283 with 54 home runs, 211 RBI and 255 runs scored over 579 games. He was a key member of the White Sox' 2005 World Series championship team.
Overall, the 38-year-old Rowand batted .273 with 136 home runs and 536 RBI over 11 major-league seasons with the White Sox, Philadelphia (2006-07) and San Francisco (2008-11).
"I'm excited about being able to pass on the knowledge of the great instructors and the great coaches I've had in the past and helped me become the player I became and hopefully pass that down the line," he said.