Why
Pete Rose Belongs in the Hall of Fame
by Robert Yoho, Columnist and Senior Editor
Seond of Two Parts
"Eye on Conservatism"
Nobody
was better at coming though in pressure situations or possessed a greater sense
of the dramatic than Pete Rose (hitting record hit #4192, right). For that alone,
he deserves to take his place in Cooperstown with the greats of the game! And
if I was ever called to the witness stand to testify why Rose should be in the
Hall of Fame, I would offer the following examples as evidence:
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In 1973, the Cincinnati Reds were playing the league championship series with the New York Mets in Shea Stadium. Pete Rose was on first base when a ground ball is hit to the infielder. As was his custom in trying to break up a potential double play, Rose slid into second base extremely hard.
Bud Harrelson, the shortstop, was angered by Rose’s attempt to take him out of the play. Words and insults quickly turned into a baseball melee. The diminutive Mets shortstop was obviously no match for the burly Rose.
When order was restored, Rose returned to his place in the outfield. The New York partisans showered him with beer cans and anything else they could throw on the playing surface. When a whiskey bottle sailed by his head, they cleared the field while order was restored.
The next day, the Reds were trailing 2 games to 1. Another loss would end the season for Pete Rose and the Reds. The game was tied 1-1 in the top of the twelfth inning. An unrepentant Rose came to the plate and was booed relentlessly by the New York fans. Undaunted, Rose smacked a pitch over the right field wall to put his team in the lead. As he circled the bases, Rose defiantly pumped his fist in the air to the jeers of the crowd.
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In 1970, baseball’s All-Star game came to Cincinnati’s recently completed Riverfront Stadium. Even President Nixon was in the crowd to watch the two leagues do battle. Like all great sports warriors, Pete Rose wanted to do well in front of the hometown crowd. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the twelfth inning. With two men out, Rose singled to center. He moved to second on a hit by Billy Grabarkewitz. Then Jim Hickman came to the plate. Hickman singled to center and Rose refused to stop on third base. With third base coach Leo Durocher waving him in, Rose furiously rounded third.
As catcher Ray Fosse blocked the plate, the baseball and Pete Rose arrived at the same time. Like a football player headed for the end zone, Rose dropped his left shoulder, and bowled over the Cleveland catcher. In one of the truly finest moments in sport, Rose’s collision scored the winning run for the National League! His desire to win was so great that he would risk his career to win an exhibition game.
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In 1967, the National League won the All-Star on a homerun by Cincinnati’s Tony Perez in the bottom of the 15th inning. That was back in the days when the outcome of the games mattered to the players, coaches, and the commissioner. Although he was selected to the ’67 team, Rose never played in the game. And that is the remarkable thing about Pete Rose and his approach to the sport.
As the game stretched into extra innings, National League manager Walt Alston was suffering from a lack of position players. The Dodgers’ legendary skipper asked the all-stars still on the bench if anyone had any catching experience. Rose, who hadn’t caught a game since his days on the sandlot, immediately stepped forward to volunteer. When Perez’s game winning homer sailed out of Anaheim Stadium, the 1963 Rookie of the Year at second base, and all-star outfielder, was getting ready to enter the game in catcher’s gear.
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As a teenager, I loved the game of baseball and Pete Rose was my sports hero. He never failed me on the field of play. But following his personal appearance in Marietta, Ohio, I learned this flawed man, but magnificent player was not much of a human being to the young people who worshipped him.
Yes, I was disillusioned. Perhaps I even grew up that day. Yet that meeting did not change the way I admired his efforts on the diamond. I still marvel at them!
These three incidents are indicative of Pete Rose’s storied career and only a sample of why his plaque should forever hang from baseball’s greatest shrine. ***
© 2002 Robert Yoho
COPYRIGHT © 2002 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.
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