RIP Charlie Hustle

[Wandering Hermit]

Pete Rose has died. 

 

Arguably the best ballplayer ever.

[Principled Man]

I grew up just a few clicks away from the Big Red Machine in the 70's.   

 

We all LOVED Pete Rose.  We also knew that he was no saint, that he was the "black sheep" of the Family.  He was OUR black sheep.  

 

The fiercest competitor, the player whom no one could ever out-hustle on the ball field.  He gave 100% every single game.    

[Wandering Hermit]

I was a kid in Western NY in the 70s and thought the Machine was the coolest thing in all of sports. Rose, Bench, Griffey, Concepcion, et al. and the best uniforms ever. But it was always clear that Rose was the greatest of those greats.

 

I hope he can now get the honors from MLB that he deserved.

Edited Monday at 11:54 PM by Wandering Hermit

[Principled Man]

4 minutes ago, Wandering Hermit said:

I was a kid in Western NY in the 70s and thought the Machine was the coolest thing in all of sports. Rose, Bench, Griffey, Concepcion, et al. and the best uniforms ever. But it was always clear that Rose was the greatest of those greats.

 

I hope he can now get the honors from MLB that he deserved.

 

I've always predicted that MLB would induct him only after he died.  We shall see if it happens.  

[treeduck]

But what does this tell us about our own impending and inevitable death? 

[pjbear05]

"Peter Edward Rose, when they made you they broke the mold."

George "Sparky" Anderson.  RIP Charlie Hustle.

[BastillePark]

5 minutes ago, treeduck said:

But what does this tell us about our own impending and inevitable death? 

No one gets out alive. I guess his family will have to hope for a posthumous but pointless HOF spot. 

[edhunter]

He was my favorite non-Yankee when I was collecting baseball cards in my youth. I have a folder with all of his cards back to ‘66. The ‘63 rookie and ‘64 & ‘65 cards were too pricey for a 15-yr old in ‘84. 

[Principled Man]

I heard about Rose passing just a little while ago.  When thinking about Rose the player, the first memory that popped into my head was how he dared the Yankees' Mickey Rivers to bunt in the 1976 World Series.  My biased memories always had Rose at least halfway between 3rd and Home....LOL

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 03:21 PM by Principled Man

[Nova Carmina]

53 minutes ago, edhunter said:

He was my favorite non-Yankee when I was collecting baseball cards in my youth. I have a folder with all of his cards back to ‘66. The ‘63 rookie and ‘64 & ‘65 cards were too pricey for a 15-yr old in ‘84. 

 

I remember how small the print was on the back of his cards by the mid-80s, and being amazed because he seemed so . . . eternal.  

 

RIP

[invisible airwave]

Right when I got into baseball as a kid is when the gambling controversy started.  Got to say I didn't bet on him for 2024 dead pool.

"That's the joke." - McBain

[Principled Man]

The comments in the Washington Post article are chock-full of the typical self-righteous condemnations and insults.   

 

Nothing will ever change.  

[edhunter]

8 minutes ago, Nova Carmina said:

 

I remember how small the print was on the back of his cards by the mid-80s, and being amazed because he seemed so . . . eternal.  

 

RIP

And back then, pre-internet or ESPN or interleague play, that was about the only way a kid could learn about players. I started collecting in ‘77, when Topps would come in a triple wax pack. I still remember my first Yankees, Ed Figueroa and Cesar Tovar. But you could flip the card and see things like Brooks Robinson’s 23 years of stats, so many they had to leave off his minor league numbers. I remember not liking Rose or Johnny Bench at first, because I was 8 and they had just beat the Yanks in the Series. 
 

I was always a no-Hall guy for Rose until baseball got in bed with all the sports books. Now it just makes them look hypocritical. 

[Principled Man]

1 hour ago, edhunter said:

I was always a no-Hall guy for Rose until baseball got in bed with all the sports books. Now it just makes them look hypocritical. 

 

Starting tomorrow, the playoff TV announcers will be talking about Rose a lot, while we the TV audience get to see billboards for gambling websites all around the stadiums.  

[Inthend]

Loved to watch Pete Rose play. He came thru many times to keep the game alive or hit in the winning run. Brought me a lot of joy. Definitely and always will be one of the all time greats. 

 

[HemiBeers]

Baseball has always been too self-righteous when it comes to policing it's players. I think much of that comes from the press as well. Times have changed, gambling is everywhere. It wouldn't surprise me that some of today's players are involved with gambling under the table. Say what you want about Rose's character, but you cannot deny the m***********ing stats. The real loss is that younger generation of kids and players don't get to appreciate how he played the game because they're sold on the statement that 'he's just the guy that got banned for gambling'. 

 

Rose should be in the HOF. The steroid guys should be in the HOF as well. Were their stats tweaked from steroids? Sure, but they would have gotten to the HOF without steroids. Who's to say what other past stars took to improve performance? It's about the m***********ing stats so take your self-righteousness and shove it.

Edited Tuesday at 02:37 PM by HemiBeers
because

[Relayer2112]

I think the problem between Pete and the baseball "powers that be" was the changing of his story over the years.  I think if he had come clean from the get-go, then baseball may have forgiven him as he got older.

[TheAccountant]

RIP to a great player.  I agree that if he had come clean right away he might, perhaps, have gotten in to the HOF.

 

That being said, I always took a hard line on him.  I would have voted no for HOF (and I tend to support a big HOF).  However, if it was a choice between him and the steroid guys its very easy - I would vote for Rose and no on the steroid guys.  Rose is a close no vote.  They are clear no votes (for me).