Much about Pete Rose is already in Cooperstown
The archives of the Hall of Fame and National Baseball Museum contain dozens of articles related to the King of MLB hits.
This weekend, tens of thousands of fans are expected to travel to CooperstownNew York, as they do annually, to pay tribute to the new members and those who return to Fame Hall and National Baseball Museumvisit the living room and admire a variety of artifacts of the great baseball, including the historical leader of the hits of the Major Leagues, Pete Rose.
Rose, whose name has never been admitted on the ballot of the Hall of Fame, died in September at age 83. In May, the Commissioner Rob Manfred He eliminated Rose and other people killed from the permanent inelegable list of MLB, which allowed Rose to be eligible again for the hall.
But Rose’s presence in the room exhibitions did not require the intervention of a commissioner. The legendary “Charlie Hustle“He has been there for decades, a constant in the presentation of the history of baseball in the museum, with numerous pieces that he donated to the living room. Rose, of course, is not a member of the Hall of Fame, but the fans have been able to see it for a long time, along with their achievements, represented in at least a dozen articles on display, including bates and a ball, a cap, booties, a shirt, a shirt and more, related to their 4256 Hits, his record of matches and shifts to bat, and his countless prizes.
The MLB expelled Rose in 1989 after an investigation in charge discovered that Rose, then manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had opted in the sport and matches of his own team. Two years later, the Board of the Hall of Fame decided that any person in the list of permanent inevables of the MLB would also be inevable for the election to the room. This was known as “Pete Rose’s rule“
For almost 15 years after baseball expelled it, Rose repeatedly denied having opted in the sport. Before, and much later, of its admission in 2004 of having bet on baseball matches, including those of the REDS, during part of their management with Cincinnati, Rose was a regular in Cooperstown during the weekends of exaltation, signing and selling autographs in a memories store.
Just one block from the Hall of Fame were Spark Anderson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tany Pérezof the champions teams of the “Great red machine“From 1975 and 1976 with Rose, and Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidtof the Philadelphia Phillies of 1980, with whom Rose won a championship, as well as several other teammates of his 24 seasons.
The exhibition “Whole New Ballgame” of the Hall, dedicated to the time from 1970 to the present The most valuable player of the National League; The ball and a ticket from the 1981 party, when it matched the Stan Musial hits record in the National League; And a 1978 can of a chocolate flavor beverage called “Pete”, with a photo of Rose in Action.
The room section that tells many of the most sacred baseball records is titled “One for the Books”. Rose’s shoes and an annotations sheet of his most important achievement are exhibited on September 11, 1985, when he broke the hits record of Ty Cobb. A 1978 Rose Bates are also exhibited, when it reached 3000 hits and matched the streak of 44 hits games Wee Willie Keelerthe National League record of 1897, and the Rose’s cap of the Montreal exhibitions of 1984, when the record of the record of Carl Yastrzemski of games played.
In “Shoebox Treasures”, which examines the phenomenon of baseball cardsvisitors can see the Rose Topps card of 1975 and two Topps cards – an authentic one and a falsification – 1963, when it was named Novate of the Year of the National League.
There is also an interactive exhibition on the issue of bets that includes the Rose saga.
And according to the Hall of Fame, their files contain dozens of objects belonging to Rose, from recorded interviews, including interviews with Howard Sterneven correspondence and collection objects, as well as the 1989 MLB investigation file on Rose’s bets, directed by the Special Prosecutor John Dowd.
Rose visited the Hall of Fame when she was 26 years old and was a star in her fifth year with Cincinnati. It was on July 24, 1967, and the Reds toured the museum before losing 3-0 against the Baltimore Orioles in the then annual exhibition match of the Hall of Fame, in which Rose went 3-0.
“This is really great,” Rose said as he toured the room, according to Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is baseball.”
Rose marveled at the multitude of memories of Babe Ruthmember of the Cooperstown inaugural class of 1936, and before the vast space specifically dedicated to “bambino” and its exploits greater than life in the diamond and beyond.
Dayton’s columnist (Ohio) Daily News, Yes Burickwho would eventually be selected for the wing of writers of the Hall, reported a moment of the visit in his column of the next day:
When someone suggested to a stunned Rose that he could also one day enter the Hall of Fame, if he continued at his current rhythm, the indomitable Cincinnatiense had a typical response. Peter pointed out a cubicle full of Ruth things and suggested: “That is my chance to enter … with my bowling ball.”
Ruth’s bowling ball was on exhibition and Rose had won four months before, during spring training, in an “-Bowl” event in a Tampa bowling alley that brought together MLB stars and the Association of Professional Bowling (PBA). Rose and Dick Weber surpassed Lou Brock, from St. Louis Cardinals, and Wayne Zahn. Of the four, only Rose is not consecrated in the Baseball Hall of Fame or in the PBA.
“I have all the records, so they can throw me into the sea, but the records will continue to be at the top,” Rose said in a 2019 interview for the “Backstory” program of AM850. “You can enter the Hall of Fame, seeing my name everywhere, which is fine. It is good for me. It is good for the Hall of Fame. The most important thing for baseball is the history of baseball.”
Now that Rose is enabled for the election, his candidacy for the Hall of Fame will be considered by the Historical Review Committee, which will prepare an eight names for the Committee of the Classical Era, whose next meeting is scheduled for December 2027. This committee is responsible for the candidates whose greatest impact was before 1980, including stars of the black leagues and the black pre-light era. Its 16 members, including members of the Hall of Fame, executives and veterans of the media, are responsible for evaluating the curriculum, integrity, sportsmanship and character of the eight candidates; 12 votes are needed for the choice.
The prolonged debates about Rose will surely continue long after 2027. Regardless of whether it is added to the plaque gallery, which means its membership in the living room (there will be 351 plates until Sunday, including those of the five new members), it is indisputable that Rose will continue to have a place in the building.
The Senior writer of AM850, Don Van Natta Jr., contributed to this report.
