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Actually - Rose said someting on Maher that really made an impression.
He said he played every game like it was his last.
That's true and has never been contested.
I remember sitting at a Dodger game in LA when Daryl Strawberry played right field. A liner was laced to right, and as I watched ball and player close distance Strawberry subtly pulled up. I wasn't sure if I had seen it right, so I asked the people around me what they saw. Each said the same.
It was the first time I saw a corporation playing a professional game, and not a player.
I haven't been back to any ballpark since.
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It's a shame that you let a classic -- and perhaps the all-time worst -- malingerer in baseball taint your view of the game. The overwhelming majority of players really enjoy the game and it shows in their play and effort levels.
That I have to give Rose credit for: he was a mediocre talent who was able to wring out a very long career of exceeded expectations. I never liked the guys, but did respect that. The gambling on baseball is just unforgivable, though, given the memory of the Black Sox scandal that nearly destroyed the game.
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Let's see, he was a drunk with a gambling habit.
Yeah, that's about right for the baseball.
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Actually, I admire Pete as a baseball player.
Some great quotes:
"I'd walk through Hell in a gasoline suit just to keep playing ball." -- Pete Rose
"If I had played my career hitting singles like Pete, I'd wear a dress." -- Mickey Mantle
"People practice what they're already good at" --Pete Rose, describing why as a mediocre talent, he could accomplish what he did, compared to other people.
You just CANNOT bet on baseball and expect to be enshrined in the Hall. No way.
As to the Black Sox,
On October 4, 1919, Joe Jackson accepted $5000 from gambler Abe Attell, supposed fix man for Arnold Rothstein. The money was delivered to Jackson by teammate Chick Gandil in a dirty envelope. This was belated and partial payment for Jackson's participation to that point.
Buck Weaver is the guy that was wrongly accused in this scandal. He should not have been banned. He did sit in on the meetings to discuss the fixing of the series but decided not to take part. By *all* accounts, he was the only conspirator who never took a dime from the gamblers or their bagmen, Gandil and Risberg. He was the leading Sox hitter in the 5 thrown games, at .333.
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Pete Rose was one of the greatest baseball players ever. As a person, just the opposite.
For those who never saw Pete Rose in Cincinnati, he was hustle, hustle, hustle. NEVER once did Rose walk out to his postion, he ran. He ran back to the dugout. He ran out every ground ball. He ran to first even when he got a walk.
Singles became doubles, doubles became triples because he played hard, he played hurt, he played almost every game.
No current player plays like that anymore. They never run out a ground ball. They jog to first. When they get a walk, they saunter down to first, instead of running. They walk to their positions.
Rose's accomplishements as a player should be front and center at the Hall of Fame, as well as his gambling and all his other faults associated with the game.
Look at all the guys on steroids or drugs. Baseball's treatment of one crime compared to another is a little uneven.
