 |
| 1999 Vero Beach photo, Pete Rose joins his son Pete Rose Jr. who was attempting to make the Dodgers roster |
When it comes to Pete Rose, I just can’t get past what a self absorbed egomaniac he is. For some crazy reason, Rose’s story was picked up by the Yahoo Sports as David Brown went out and interviewed that miserable, lying, self-absorbed, arrogant man again. I read the pieces, and again, as much as I thought I couldn’t despise the guy any more, I was proved wrong again.
I guess he wants us to feel sorry for him. I say, "No way, no how." Here is a guy that as a player was, in my opinion, a complete showboat. I’ll give him this, he wanted to win, but he didn’t care how dirty he had to get to accomplish that. In the sportsmanship arena, Rose was a zero. Ask Ray Fosse, ask Bud Harrelson. Rose was as dirty a player as there was. Sure he hustled. But he did that in more ways than one.
Now I know I'll get a lot of criticism from Rose's fans. They are a loyal lot. I think they are flawed in their reasoning and blinded by their worship of him. But as a player, he was over-rated. Singles and singles. Yes, it's a skill to bang out singles on a consistent basis. And Rose did that. But there were far more valuable players of his era. The games leader in hits and definitely, leader in meaningless hits too.
Pete is a documented womanizer, liar, tax cheat, and gambling addict. He used people and attempted to deflect his sins on others to protect himself. He destroyed friendships and betrayed people, ruining his legacy on the process. A first ballot Hall of Famer, due to his longevity, who lost his reputation and access to baseball by gambling his way out of the game.
He had the Queen City at his feet, (still does for the most part), and he blew it. He had the respect of the baseball establishment and he didn’t care. He threw that away because of his arrogance. He even had America cheering for him and willing to forgive him, but his pride disallowed him to come clean. He just kept lying. THEN, just as an upswing of support arose to possibly push him into the Hall of Fame through his buddy Joe Morgan’s vets committee, Rose ‘fessed up to his transgressions, simply because he was releasing a book and it would garner more sales. Rose's timing of that couldn't have been worse, but it was planned and calculated. He admitted to betting on baseball on the very same day that the announcement that Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley were inducted to the Hall, taking away their day in the sun. As selfish an act as he's ever made. Pete’s not a Red, the only color he recognizes is green.
Now what is the “hit king” doing? He sells his autograph for a living. And there are enough mindless idiots out there that pay in order to keep this egomaniac going. He sits in a Ceaser’s Palace booth and signs his name for a living. Pete isn’t too proud to be a carnival show. If it’s for some good money, he’ll sell his soul to the Devil, over and over again.
 |
| For a price, Rose has even signed the following inscription on balls. |
If you’re willing to spend five grand, you and three others can even have dinner with the hit king. Imagine that, watching Pete Rose stuffing his face and bragging about his exploits for $5,000. He even throws in a sculpture of his hand holding a black baseball signed “Charlie Hustle.” I guess its a reminder of the night that he “hustled” you out of 5 grand.
Oh, I’ve heard the excuses before. He deserves to be in the hall because:
He’s the all times hits leader
His transgressions happened after his playing days were over,
Ty Cobb was a murderer, Rogers Hornesby a Klansman, Ruth a drunkard, etc., etc.,
Steroids were much worse
Giamatti was unfair to him
His hustle was to be admired
He did no harm, because he bet only on his team to win
To all that I say, “phooey.” Pete made his bed so he can sleep in it. Gambling on the game is the one action that will destroy it. If you can’t have confidence that the games are straight up and honest, then you can never have faith in the game. Baseball would become the WWE. There’s a reason that Landis banished the Black Sox 8, and that was because they tarnished the confidence the fans had that the game was straight up and honest. Guess what? Pete Rose did the same thing.
And the argument made by some that since Rose bet on his team to win, so it wasn’t a factor that affected the integrity of the game is complete nonsense. With Rose having big money on a particular game, as a manager, he throws out such things as: protecting his players from injury or saving a pitcher for later in a series. Yes, in a 162 game season, sometimes you don’t throw all your eggs in a basket to win one game, because in the end, it may be detrimental to the team for the remainder of the year or to a player, for the remainder of his career. (See June 27, 2010 - Joe Torre’s destruction of Jonathan Broxton in order to win ONE game on National TV against the Yankees. Torre, the egomaniac, destroyed Broxton as a player that day in an effort to win one meaningless regular season game against his former team).
 |
| Shawn Turner, Stockton Record |
Anyway, getting back to Rose. In 2011, Rose's arrogance continues. When asked about Game 6 of the 2011 series, he calls it a sloppy game. Not as good as Game 6 of the ’75 Series that he participated in. When the reporter compares greenies of his era to steroids, Rose equates those amphetamines to the cup of coffee that he drinks. He tells Brown that he doesn’t look or act his age, (70). Well I’ve got news for you Pete. You do look 70, there’s no doubt about that, and your 30 something Playboy model silicone enhanced girlfriend looks ridiculous next to you. Also, as far as not acting your age...that’s the most honest statement you have ever made, but it’s nothing to be proud of. As far as maturity is concerned, Pete has never had it, and probably never will. But according to him, life is good, even when asked if he thinks baseball will ever reinstate him.
He tells Brown: “I don’t worry about it. I’m at ease. My mind is clear. I got a good job. I got a pretty girlfriend. I got another grandson on the way in two weeks. So there’s a lot of good things going for me.”
Sure Pete, sure. Whatever...
No comments:
Post a Comment