He's one of the all time greats of the game. He holds the record for most career hits by a major league player, 4,256. He's also noted for his style of play, giving 110% on every play whether necessary or not. Early in his career, another player, Edward "Whitey" Ford sarcastically called him "Charlie Hustle." Rose seized upon the nickname and made it his own. If you mention the word "hustle" to any baseball fan, he or she will immediately know you're referring to Pete Rose.
He's also a lifelong gambler, which for a baseball player is not a good thing.
In 1919, baseball was scandalized when it was found that the Chicago White Sox had rigged games against the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, in what became knows as the "Black Sox" scandal. What most don't realize today is that the outrage was not because players had bet on and rigged games. Baseball was rife with corruption then, and everyone knew it. The outrage was because it had happened in the World Series. It seemed that not even the championship games were sacred.
Since then, MLB has been fanatical on the subject of gambling. For example, Mickey Mantle, another great of the game, accepted a job as a representative at a casino after his retirement from baseball. His job had nothing to do with the casino's gambling operations, it was to schmooze with high rollers. But MLB banished him for this, putting him on the "permanently ineligible" list. (He was later reinstated.)
Rose was, and probably still is, a lifelong client of illegal bookies. He was also such a top moneymaker for the game that people covered up for him. MLB, by which I mean the office of the commissioner, knew about Rose's gambling at least as far back as 1970. The Cincinnati Reds knew at least as far back as Rose's rookie season in the majors, 1963.
In 1989 that all changed. Rose had also been stiffing people for most of his life. "I don't have to pay that guy back, I'm Pete Rose!" -- that sort of thing. He finally encountered someone who wouldn't stand for it. He had conned Paul Janszen, an illegal steroids dealer, into putting up something like $30,000 to cover his own gambling debts. When Janszen was arrested by the FBI and charged with drug dealing, he tried to call in the debt in order to finance his legal defense. Rose gave him $10,000 and told him to get lost. Janszen got his revenge. He took evidence of Rose's gambling to Sports Illustrated, a magazine here which covers sports. They investigated, found the allegations were valid, and broke the story.
The result was a long, very public scandal which played out over several months. Finally, in August of that year, Rose accepted permanent ineligibility. He's been banned from baseball ever since. The Hall of Fame, which claims independence from MLB but is in truth a flea riding on the back of an elephant and so will ride along wherever the elephant wishes to go, promptly enacted a rule by which he's banned from membership.
Rose was a great baseball player, but he is also a very shady character. He knowingly consorted with drug dealers. He had not only a gambling habit, but probably an actual addiction. He sold forged memorabilia. He cheated on his taxes and went to prison for it. He was unfaithful to his various wives. He was caught in a paternity scandal and had to admit fathering an illegitimate daughter. Apparently he wasn't much of a father to her; as an adult she's had numerous drug and prostitution arrests.
Americans have strange reactions to fallen heroes. Few want to see Rose reinstated into baseball. Whether he should be in the Hall of Fame is more controversial. I say no to his reinstatment, yes to his being in the HOF -- it's a museum, he can't hurt anyone there, and he's certainly earned a place in it. He's got other honors though. There's a statue of him outside the Cincinnati ball park, and one of the adjacent streets is named Pete Rose Way.
Rose himself would like to be in the HOF but knows he certainly never will, at least not while he's still alive. He acknowledges that he's probably made more money as baseball's problem child than he would have if the scandal had never happened, and he seems to have accepted the situation with humor. On his web site you can buy autographed baseballs inscribed, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball" ... but also ones inscribed, "I wish I had shot Bin Laden," "I didn't do steroids," and such. At one time he was selling baseballs inscribed, "I'm sorry I shot JFK," but those seem to no longer be available.
(BTW, I didn't get my baseball from his site. I've no reason to think he forges memorabilia these days, but he has in the past, so I can't discount the possibility that he pays someone else to sign the baseballs for him. He wouldn't be the first celebrity to do that. I bought the baseball from the Reds gift shop. It's not that I think the Reds are pure and holy, rather, it would be embarrassing if they were caught selling forged memorabilia, so much so that they wouldn't do it.)
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Stratego (31087)
4 years ago
Honestly, he sounds like a bit of a dick making money that way.
Mickey Mantle I did know, but only because his trading card seems to be considered a sort of holy grail in US films and tv shows
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BullSchmidt (3189)
4 years ago
I admire Rose as a baseball player. And in his defense, his love of the game was and is quite real, and he was generous giving his time in support of it. He'd freely hang around after games giving autographs to fans, and there are numerous stories of him dropping in, uninvited, to Little League and high school team practices and advising players.
But there's little else admirable about the man. The aforementioned Paul Janszen was hardly alone in his experience. There are also numerous stories from people who thought they were friends with Rose and suddenly found differently when the associations no longer benefited him. As one such person said, "Pete Rose doesn't have friends, he has people he uses."
Mickey Mantle was also a great player. He also destroyed his liver with alcoholism; and when he needed a liver transplant he almost certainly used his influence to jump in line ahead of others needed such transplants. And he also had a very nasty streak in his personality which came out sometimes. Once a child approached him, asked for an autograph, and Mantle responded with a caustic remark which made the child run away in tears.
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Stratego (31087)
4 years ago
I can't say I'm all that surprised. It seems to be the same in almost every sport. It really goes to their heads.
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BullSchmidt (3189)
4 years ago
I feel a mixture of admiration, envy, pity, and disgust for them.
Admiration because they worked their asses off to get where they are. Nobody gets to be among the best in the world at anything through innate talent alone.
Envy at their salaries. Yeah, they're absurdly large. Well, if someone offered me millions of dollars per year I'd take it. I won't blame them for doing the same.
Pity because of what the experience does to them. I don't know how it works in Europe, but here in the USA such players are identified as having the potential to be stellar athletes while still children. They often pass through their school years with little demand put on them academically. Then, when not even out of adolescence, they're awarded large salaries and regularly appear in front of crowds who cheer them. That sort of life can warp a person. Many never emotionally grow out of adolescence, remaining for the rest of their lives with a belief that the world owes them a living and admiration. And when they retire they're often woefully ill-prepared for life outside of sports. For example, despite having earned those large salaries while playing, a shockingly high percentage of NFL athletes end up bankrupt in their later years.
Disgust because of the public behavior. At least when I was a child, pro athletes were aware that many children looked up to them and tried to comport themselves accordingly. Not so much anymore.
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