Letter: Recollections of Pete Rose

Dear Editor,

Thank you to the author of last week’s comments regarding Pete Rose. I am in my late 50’s and have had a lifelong admiration for this guy. Getting to grow up in the 70s and 80s meant getting to watch Pete Rose play baseball and play it in a way that no one else has or ever will. Even better, was growing up as a young ballplayer myself and always trying to emulate Pete’s drive and ambition on the field, playing the game we both love so much.

I was able to meet Pete five different times in my life, the first in 1986 and the last in 2016, and each time he was as funny and as gracious as the last. He was always about the fans and giving them their money’s worth. Nobody played harder than Pete, yet he rarely missed a game. Surely he played through injury but would never miss a game if at all possible.

That hard-nosed, blue collar work ethic that I love so much and that is so rare these days. As a fan, he was beloved if he was on your team and despised if he was the opponent.

In 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to attend his Reds Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in Cincinnati. Growing up in New York, I had only been able to attend games at Shea Stadium when the Reds came into town and those fans loathed Pete. To finally be able to celebrate Pete in his hometown of Cincinnati with those fans, where he has been and always will be revered, was truly indescribable and most certainly far superior to anything Cooperstown could have ever done for him.

There will never be another Pete Rose. As they say, he was truly “1 of 1” and rightfully so; #1 in all-time career hits and always #1 in my book. May God Bless You Pete. You were so much fun to watch, to meet, to speak with and to celebrate, but most importantly, your true legacy will always be that you played the game the way it is supposed to be played.

Unsigned

(From the Editor: This came in to our Readers’ Column, but was too long. I felt its sentiment would serve our readers well.)