Pete Rose To Attend Opening Day
And well he should. His lifetime ban from baseball is ludicrous, whatever the details.
As it stands, Pete Rose was an integral member of the finest Major League Baseball team ever to take the field. The Cincinnati Reds clubs of 1975 and 1976 were arguable better than the 1958 Yankees or even the 2000-odd Yankees. Rose was a pivotal contributor to The Big Red Machine's machinelike production, and his determination and hustle helped spearhead the team's spirit.
Add in the fact the man earned more hits than any other player in the sport's history, and he's an automatic shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. Of course, he made some bad decisions, forgot/neglected to pay taxes and ultimately was booted from the same sport that provided his identity and income.
While officially ostracized, there's no prohibition on the man's attending a baseball game as a citizen. And that's exactly what Pete Rose is going to do this April 2. I'll be there, as will some 30,000 others, to celebrate the wonder of Opening Day in Cincinnati.
With a season-long exhibit dedicated to celebrating Pete Rose's contributions to baseball, now would be a great time for the Reds ownership to also consider retiring the #14 jersey. While MLB might prevent retiring "Pete Rose's" jersey by name, there's seemingly no prohibition aginst the Reds retiring the numerals one and four together - possibly the most famous jersey number in the game's history. It would be the right thing to do in a bad situation.
As it stands, Pete Rose was an integral member of the finest Major League Baseball team ever to take the field. The Cincinnati Reds clubs of 1975 and 1976 were arguable better than the 1958 Yankees or even the 2000-odd Yankees. Rose was a pivotal contributor to The Big Red Machine's machinelike production, and his determination and hustle helped spearhead the team's spirit.
Add in the fact the man earned more hits than any other player in the sport's history, and he's an automatic shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. Of course, he made some bad decisions, forgot/neglected to pay taxes and ultimately was booted from the same sport that provided his identity and income.
While officially ostracized, there's no prohibition on the man's attending a baseball game as a citizen. And that's exactly what Pete Rose is going to do this April 2. I'll be there, as will some 30,000 others, to celebrate the wonder of Opening Day in Cincinnati.
With a season-long exhibit dedicated to celebrating Pete Rose's contributions to baseball, now would be a great time for the Reds ownership to also consider retiring the #14 jersey. While MLB might prevent retiring "Pete Rose's" jersey by name, there's seemingly no prohibition aginst the Reds retiring the numerals one and four together - possibly the most famous jersey number in the game's history. It would be the right thing to do in a bad situation.
posted by Erik Eckel at 4:36 PM
1 Comments:
Right on, Erik. Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully Bud Selig will realize that he has the opportunity to right a wrong that has been going on much too long.
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