This was taken in Montreal.
Was it?
During the all-star game, yeah.
Thank you.
Have a great day.
You too.
I saw you once in Vegas.
You should be in
the Hall of Fame.
That's a good sign there.
Yeah, it's steady.
Hey, buddy.
Thanks a lot.
Meeting one of the
all-time greatest, Gino.
Do you play ball?
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Can you hit?
No.
There you go, buddy.
And when you get ready to hit,
tuck that g*dd*mn hair
underneath the hat
so you'll be able to see
the f*cking ball, OK?
That's good. Thank you, Pete.
Thank you.
Let me see it.
Do you believe this?
Look at this.
What does it say?
That's Miracle League.
Isn't that supposed to be you?
Oh
Mr. Baseball.
Hank Aaron told me he struck
out three times in one game,
and he went home, and
he couldn't sleep.
I struck out five times.
- You struck out five
- Five times in a game.
In one game?
Yeah, yeah.
I'm so happy to hear that.
I struck out five
times once a month.
That broke my heart,
the stuff that
Yeah, I got
they're talking to me again.
Yeah, yeah.
We'll see what happens.
They're gonna need somebody
the next couple of years.
I know.
They don't have no big names.
You don't need to go in
because you're a big name.
You need to go in
because you belong.
Yeah.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the greatest player
in the history of
baseball, Pete Rose.
Batting first and
playing left field,
number 14, Pete Rose.
One of the game's
greatest players
has engaged in a variety of acts
which have stained the game.
That's what I
think of Pete Rose!
Mr. Rose has accepted
baseball's ultimate sanction,
which is lifetime ineligibility.
Everything in this
business is one more time.
It's fake.
Let me get his
camera ready here.
One time, we did 140
of these, one month.
You know, obviously, you get
more of these around Christmas
or Thanksgiving
you know, holidays.
Like this.
Everybody sends in birthday.
Hey, Jerry! This is Pete Rose.
I want to wish you happy
birthday number 75,
you old fart!
My God!
OK.
Here we go.
Hello, Melanie.
Pete Rose here, and it's
a pleasure to talk to you.
I'm honored to be a
role model for you
since you were in middle school.
Wow!
You're now 47 years old
and a living kidney donor
and donated your
kidney to a nurse
you worked with who
suffered from stage
jeez, that's a
this is a bad one.
Oh!
Air. Broken foot.
Sorry.
Hey there, Chad!
Pete Rose here wishing
you a happy 50th birthday.
The only thing you love more
than betting on baseball
is betting on the horses.
Man, them horses, they
what am I gonna say about that?
Oh, boy.
OK.
I do four or six videos a day.
People pay to get
videos for birthdays,
for anniversaries, for
Easter, for Father's Day.
Hey, Rob.
Happy 52nd birthday, brother.
Baseball wouldn't give me no
opportunity to make a living.
I had to make a living.
I used to do $20,000 a
day just in autographs.
That's $3.6 million a year.
Not in the casinos, OK?
Let's get that straight.
OK? I'd do I'd do the malls.
What happens to people
that come to Vegas?
One, they want to have fun.
Two, they want to
see a celebrity.
And three, they
usually got money.
And that's right up my alley.
Yes, Charlie Hustle.
Pete Rose should be in the
Hall of Fame, but he's not.
I signed autographs
five hours a day,
15 days a month.
Awesome.
Thank you, sir.
I couldn't do this in New York.
I couldn't do this in Atlanta.
But you could do it in Vegas.
That's why I moved to Las Vegas.
See you, buddy.
Great, great, great.
You know, I've been
asked for an autograph
when I'm at the airport in
the restroom using the john.
Hey, can I have an autograph?
Let's see.
Happy 75th birthday to
John from the family.
He's a hustler in every
sense of the word
you know, good,
bad, and otherwise.
And that's what he's
spent 60 years doing.
Thanks a lot, Pete.
Thank you.
Hey, Pete.
I got three ba*ls.
Everybody in town
is looking for you.
You got three ba*ls.
He's almost like an
uncouth member of society.
But Rose was able to
keep people on his side,
because he had public support.
I'm on fire today.
That's all it
- You're ready, boy.
- Oh, boy.
You're waiting for Perez?
And his supporters would say
it's that kind of mentality
that made him great
in the first place,
but it also has destroyed him.
So
You can't, because there's
too many guys that already,
in their craw,
made up their mind.
I thought I was getting
suspended for a year.
Well, how many years is it?
30-some years?
That's a long time to
swallow crow, isn't it?
Pete Rose, who collected more
hits than any other player
in Major League
Baseball history,
walked out of prison
today in Marion, Illinois,
after serving five months for
cheating on his income tax.
Pete, how are you doing?
Great!
The all-time hits leader
must now go to bat
for youngsters in Cincinnati,
performing 1,000 hours
of community service
as a phys ed teacher
for disadvantaged
schoolchildren.
I thought this
country was a country
of giving second chances.
What happened to me?
What happened to me?
How you doing?
Good.
How you doing?
Have you been told what your
responsibilities will be yet?
Yeah.
What are you gonna
be doing on weekends?
Are you gonna have
some free time?
Free time?
Will they allow you to get out?
Well, I can get out if
I have business reasons.
Can you go out of town?
Yes, sir.
Can you go out of state as well?
As long as it's
business reasons.
As long as it's business?
Yeah.
I got drafted by the
Orioles in the 12th round.
I signed.
I ended up going to
instructional league,
and then that's when
that's when it all went down.
And it was rough.
To give you an idea of my first
professional game in Durham,
people were waving
dollar bills at me.
OK.
Presenting number 14, Pete Rose.
I had to take it,
because that was my job,
and that was, you
know, whatever.
But I just remember
just caring about him.
Hey, are you OK?
Because when you take
baseball away from him,
I mean, God.
Do you think this
will be a fun job?
A fun job?
Didn't you have fun
when you went to school?
How you doing?
How you doing, Pete?
I remember he got
out, and he's like,
"Hey, I'm at the halfway house.
"Let's go get some Big
Macs, and let's go up
to the Western
Hills Sports Mall."
And you know, we hadn't
had Big Macs in a while.
So we sit down.
You know, you're you're
you're me, and I'm him.
And he looks up, and he
goes, what's back there?
Dad, come on, man.
Eat the Big Mac.
You know what's back there.
No, no, seriously,
what's back there?
So he gets up.
He walks to the back.
And it's the batting
cages, right?
So, of course, you know,
people were looking,
and they're like,
hey, man, there's
you know, there's that guy.
There's Pete Rose.
He's right there.
So now you got
people walking back.
And I'm like, here we go.
This ain't gonna work.
And he gets in the
one that's fastball,
80 miles an hour, what 85.
Drops down, and the
ball spits out like
He hits a line
drive first pitch,
line drive off the machine.
He turns around and
looks at everybody
and says, "You know what?
Some things never
f*cking change, do they?"
And walks right out of the cage.
That was the hit
Pete Rose thought
would ensure him a place
with baseball's immortals.
That's number 4,192.
Now his chances to join that
select group in Cooperstown
may have been dealt
a mortal blow.
The Hall of Fame
Committee has decided
to review the rules
for inducting players
into the baseball shrine.
That has set off a
bench-clearing brawl
with sportswriters, who have
voted in the Hall's members
for the past 55 years.
Suddenly, they've decided
to review the rules
one year before
Pete Rose becomes
eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Now, I mean, you don't
have to be too bright
to figure out what
it's all about.
Great, great.
All: Go, Yankees!
We love you, Reggie!
Cooperstown is this
beautiful, idyllic village
that, as you drive in,
you get the feeling
that you're entering a
Norman Rockwell painting.
And right there in the
middle of Main Street
sits the National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum.
I started in
Cooperstown in 1994,
so five years after
Pete was banned,
and three years after
the Hall of Fame board
chose to change the
rules for election.
The Hall of Fame's directors
voted the former Cincinnati
Reds player-manager turned
felon cannot be considered
for the Hall of Fame.
The directors felt that it
would be incongruous to have
a person who had been
declared ineligible
by baseball to be eligible
for baseball's highest honor.
Pete, how'd you like
teaching the kids?
What was that?
How'd you like teaching
the kids, Pete?
Oh, I'm still gonna
teach the kids.
When that rule came into play,
that effectively
eliminated Pete from being
considered in a formal way.
So the Hall of Fame
kind of just said,
"Well, it's not up to us.
It's up to Major
League Baseball."
Major League Baseball is where
the buck stopped on that.
The Pete Rose debate,
it's evergreen.
You can always debate Pete Rose.
And there's always so
much to debate about.
He's a draw.
He's still a draw.
After being banned from
baseball for gambling,
after being imprisoned
for tax evasion
- Good to see you, sir.
- How are you doing?
Good.
Rose is now starting over.
Rose was always
in the background,
kind of lurking as a subject,
because he's one of
the players in baseball
that drives interest as
if he was a real player.
There you go, pal.
Despite all that's gone wrong,
Rose remains a big
draw, appearing
at shows all over the
country, like this one
in Atlanta last month
appearances that can earn
him several thousand dollars.
He's more famous for not
being in the Hall of Fame
than if he were in
the Hall of Fame.
He's monetized it better.
Our guest is Pete Rose.
He's our guest
for the full hour.
We'll be including
your phone calls.
Pete, where do we stand today?
You're doing your radio show
successful, over 200 stations.
You've got a very
thriving restaurant,
a wonderful new family,
a happy marriage.
All I have to do is make it
very, very, very difficult
for whoever's in
charge to turn me down
when I apply for reinstatement.
I did.
I played Ty Cobb, yeah.
You don't know how to
deal with those SOBs
in the front office.
I can be a player-manager
as good as you can
any day of the week.
I did that in Cleveland
in a hotel room.
Yeah, I had my
hair slicked back.
I'd have been a good
guy in the '20s.
I'd have been a Romeo.
I don't know about the
'30s, but the '20s?
Yeah.
Ladies and gentlemen,
baseball's all-time hit leader,
Pete Rose.
Recently, the
commissioner's office
investigated Rose's appearance
at a Minor League park
in Reading, Pennsylvania,
where he paid tribute
to a former teammate,
Mike Schmidt.
Pete Rose does not go quiet
into this still night.
Right? I mean, Pete
Rose is around.
He's ever present.
With those sweaters,
you gotta
are you gonna market
those sweaters?
Well, we got a lot
of things going.
I think
This looks like a
Pete Rose sweater.
That's a great thing
too, all right,
because corporate
America, I think they're
letting me back on their team.
We got a
- Oh, are they?
Yeah, we got a line
of dips and salsas
that come out of
the Ballpark Café
that's out in most of
the stores in Florida.
And we got an
unbelievable frozen pizza.
It's gonna be called
Pete Rose's Ballpark
He would bring himself
into the story sometimes.
And other times,
you could just say,
I think it's time that
we did a story on,
should Pete Rose be
in the Hall of Fame?
Pete Rose is talked
about every single year,
every single year
at Cooperstown.
Tell me another Hall of
Famer we speak about as often
as we speak about Pete Rose.
If Pete Rose don't belong
in the Hall of Fame,
they ought to close it.
I personally think, yes,
Pete Rose should be
in the Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose, Hall of Fame?
I think he should be put in.
Pete Rose showed he's more
than just a pretty face
as the disgraced
baseball legend received
a standing ovation
at the introduction
of baseball's All-Century
team last night in Atlanta.
Rose's cheer before a
sell-out World Series crowd
was 55 seconds,
15 seconds longer
than Hank Aaron's.
Rose was able to
keep public support
when he was banned
from the game.
Have you thought about
what you would say
at the Hall of Fame?
No, no, no, not at all,
because that would
be a teary-eyed
you know, it would be
a a real soap opera.
I hesitate to use this analogy,
but there's a there's
a Trumpian aspect of him.
I think that you could probably
sell seats at Yellowstone
Park for that induction.
What do you think?
I think there'd be
a few people there.
How are the Cincinnati
Reds players and fans
reacting to Rose's exile?
We all love Pete
Rose, no matter what.
I sure miss him, though.
Free Mr. Baseball!
Give Pete Rose a second chance!
What always happens
in this country is,
if you go after
a popular figure,
people will rally
to their defense,
because people want to
believe that their heroes
are telling them the truth.
When he looks you in
the eye and tells you,
"I did not bet on baseball,"
I believe Pete Rose.
I refuse to believe he
would ever bet on baseball.
And I'll refuse it
until I finally hear him
say it with his own words.
And I think he would if he did.
I don't know.
You know what's weird is
I haven't spoken to Pete,
except just about a year
ago, he called my cell phone.
And I spoke with him
for the first time.
I haven't met him.
I told him I'd be in Las Vegas.
I know he's out there.
I'd love to meet with him.
And he was talking like
everything was great.
And I'm thinking, wow, like,
is he that in such denial?
You know, I'm thinking,
jeez, you know,
I think you owe me
a "thank you" here.
Pete Rose has
repeatedly denied
Major League Baseball, in fact,
has never officially said
that he did bet on baseball.
But you insist he did.
Well, Pete, you know,
he bet on baseball,
only, I think, not
realizing the consequences
of doing something like that.
I think he did it out
of out of boredom,
and something he knew.
And he and he had
fun at that time.
It was a lot of fun.
You feel betrayed by Pete Rose,
the fact that he never
acknowledged your loyalty.
Correct.
I mean, all he had to
do was say thank you,
and I would have taken
this to my grave.
And I just feel that
enough is enough.
And I just want to let the
people know that this
You know, I'm not
mad at Pete Rose.
But I think in deep inside,
he's he's miserable.
And he knows that, deep down,
that when you're not telling
the truth, it's tough.
What made you say to yourself,
I gotta go talk to
the commissioner?
What what changed
in your life?
Um
I just had to take
responsibility for what I did.
You're now saying for
the first time publicly,
"Yes, I bet on baseball."
I bet on baseball
in 1987 and 1988.
Did you bet on your own team?
Yes.
For 14 years, Rose
adamantly denied
allegations that
he bet on baseball.
However, in a new book called
"My Prison Without Bars,"
he finally admits that
he bet on the game,
thus setting in
motion a process that
may win him
reinstatement to baseball
and election to
the Hall of Fame.
Your public story changed.
You wrote the book.
But prior to writing the book,
you met with Bud Selig, right?
Yeah, that book went out
over a year after that
that situation happened.
The whole thing was screwed up.
The whole the whole
scenario was screwed up.
I didn't use the book to tell
people I bet on baseball,
because in my life, I
always felt the only guy
I had to tell was the
guy running the show.
But Bud Selig didn't say to you,
you should hold a
press conference
or let the world know?
No, not at all.
If you noticed, yesterday,
when all this broke on Monday,
strangely silent in
Milwaukee nothing.
And I think all along, Bud
is the kind of commissioner
who wants to do what he
thinks is the popular thing.
Now I think he wants to
see how this plays out.
In other words, put
the book out there.
Let the American
people judge whether
Pete Rose is sincere or not.
This could blow up on him.
This could backfire.
Even people who have supported
Pete Rose are gonna realize,
he's lied to me for 14 years.
In 2004, the Baseball
Writers elected
Dennis Eckersley
and Paul Molitor
to the Hall of Fame.
Wouldn't you know,
the exact same day
that we're introducing
these brand new Hall
of Famers to the world
is the day that Pete
decides to release his book
and admit that he
gambled on baseball.
True to Pete, he
wasn't gonna admit it
until he had a book to sell,
until he had an angle
that he could profit from.
Just a train wreck.
Just, like, an absolute
disaster at every turn.
You know, I'm wrong
about this, I know.
And people will have
things to say about it.
But if you want
to know the truth,
I think I think a manager
should bet on his
team every night.
It never altered the way
I tried to run the game.
Did you ever bet
against your own team?
Oh, no, no, no.
Well, first of all,
are we supposed to just
take you at your word,
serial gambler Pete Rose?
You know, he says,
"I bet on my team to
win every single day."
The Dowd Report says he
bet on the Reds 52 times.
So what about the times
you didn't bet on the Reds?
What is gambling community
to take away from that?
On the 10th of June,
Rose and company
were tied for first place.
And now they've
lost 13 out of 19.
They're 5 1/2 back.
They are obviously
hurting in many areas.
Here's Cal
And secondly, you've
gotta understand
the way in which
today's decision
affects tomorrow's game.
Say he had used his
best relief pitcher
three days in a row and
really wanted him to give
give him a day off
on that fourth day.
But he has money on the game.
That will do it for
young Jack Armstrong.
You're telling me there's
no temptation then
to put that pitcher in the
game to preserve that win?
It don't matter.
I'm still trying
to win the game.
I'm making the decisions.
My decisions aren't based
on betting on the game.
My decisions that
I make as a manager
are based on trying to
win the fricking game.
He's never wrong.
He's never gonna apologize.
He's never gonna back down.
It's always somebody
else's fault.
He is the hero of his
own mind, for sure.
Yeah!
Whoo!
It hurts, but at the
same time, he's
I love seeing him.
It brings a smile to my face.
Dougie!
I love seeing my dad with him.
How's it looking, man?
Take care now, man.
Where you going?
We gotta go to the parade.
Love you, buddy.
It's sad at the same
time, because
he was a major part
of my life growing up.
Lining up for the parade.
Watch your step, Pete.
That's the part where,
you know, still,
you ask me about Pete,
I'm gonna tell you
it's gonna be a biased answer,
because I've known
Pete since I was born.
Hey, Pete. How you doing?
Good. How you doing?
Good, Pete.
He could have handled
the entire reinstatement
to the Hall of Fame differently,
but I don't know if Pete
wants to see it that way.
I I don't know
if he's capable
of seeing it that way, you know?
I mean, I don't
I don't know how
Pete really feels.
I never sat down with Pete
and had a man-to-man with him,
because you would
probably understand
what I mean by that.
He's not the kind
of guy that can sit
and talk man-to-man with me.
He's a strange guy.
He's a strange guy.
But in my case,
related to baseball
and his effect on me,
what he did for
me was invaluable.
So I'm I'll be forever
indebted to Pete for that.
We all have people to thank
for helping us get here,
two who are already in
Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan
and one who is being
inducted today, Tony Perez.
Very vital parts of
the Big Red Machine.
And those from that team
who should be in
the Hall and aren't.
There have been so many people
who've wanted to help him,
who've wanted to
be there for him.
You don't give up on your
teams when they're losing,
and you don't give up
on your favorite players
when they're losing as well.
And yes, by God,
Peter Edward Rose.
- Joe Morgan?
- Yep.
I love Joe.
Um, well, Joe always had a
voice at the Hall of Fame,
but he couldn't
he couldn't convince
the other guys in the committee.
"The New York Daily
News" reports that
Commissioner Bud Selig may
reconsider that lifetime ban
on all-time hits
leader Pete Rose.
There is increasing pressure
that we saw this week
that suggests that
a lot of the people
who influence Bud
Selig will be trying
to convince him that
the time has come.
Joe Morgan, who is vice
chairman of the Hall of Fame,
talked to Rose for an hour.
So something's going
on, as much as baseball
is insisting that nothing
is officially changed
Joe is not just one
of the Hall of Famers.
Joe is a guy that
the Hall of Fame
kind of leaned on to help
them with big issues.
Joe tried to lobby
with the Hall of Famers
themselves to get Pete
Rose in the Hall of Fame,
where he should be.
We talk about conditions
for reinstatement.
What would those
be for Pete Rose?
Well, obviously, it's
really at the control
of Commissioner Bud Selig.
I mean, Pete Rose,
the Writers definitely
would not vote him
into the Hall of Fame.
If he reinstates Pete Rose
and makes him
eligible for a vote,
the veterans committee
then picks that up,
and they'll decide.
Guys who are already
in the Hall of Fame,
they will decide whether or not
he's going into the
Hall of Fame someday.
But clearly, that's
what it comes down to.
It's really all
in the hands of
The Baseball Writers only look
at recently retired players.
After 10 years, you get looked
at by a veterans committee.
Committee voting
is very different
than the Baseball Writers.
It's a much smaller group.
It's usually an electorate
of 16 individuals
who are made up
of Hall of Famers,
executives, and historians.
Hank Aaron's come out.
Now Mike Schmidt's come out.
Joe Morgan's come out.
There are some that are
at least powerful names
in the sport that
are saying maybe
we should at least
take a look at this.
And Bud Selig does
listen to people.
And he really listens
Joe always felt like
nobody more than
those Hall of Famers
wanted Pete to go ahead
and admit what he did,
and to to show
that he had remorse,
and to apologize to them,
and then welcome him
in with open arms.
But at the same
time, Joe knew well
and often talked about how
Pete was his own worst enemy.
You view yourself then,
now, as an honest man?
Oh, I've always been honest.
As a matter of fact,
I've been too honest.
You know, Pete
was very stubborn.
So that never happened.
And I think it hurt
Joe to see Pete Rose
left out of a place
where he should be.
Joe did everything in his power
to try and put Pete in a
position with Bud Selig.
But more often than not,
something would happen.
Pete would say something,
or something would occur,
and Joe's efforts
would go for naught.
Whether anything good would
have come out of that or not,
nobody knows.
But Joe worked his a*s off
to try and make that happen,
and it never did.
I used to tell Pete I said,
"You'll never have a better
friend in your lifetime
than you have from
that guy right there."
Sports fans around
the world are mourning
the loss of one of the
best to ever play the game.
Of course, we're talking
about Joe Morgan here.
He died yesterday afternoon
at his home in
Danville, California.
I talked to Joe Morgan
the last five years
more than any player in
the history of baseball.
And all of a sudden,
for a couple weeks,
he never called me.
Then all of a sudden,
8:00 in the morning,
I get a call from his wife
that told me he passed away.
They did?
I don't think so,
'cause I wasn't invited.
I I don't believe that.
I don't think any
teammate of Joe Morgan
would get a get a
get-together with Joe Morgan
and not invite me.
I was Joe's best friend.
God rest his soul.
They had Joe Morgan
Day on August the 8th,
8/8/2021.
And Joe's wife, Theresa,
who's from Cincinnati,
put together a dinner
and made that the
memorial dinner
the night before Joe Morgan Day
at the Great American Ballpark.
Pete Rose, forward motion.
Take care, man.
But Pete Rose was not there.
And they all expected
that he would be,
but he never showed,
and nobody ever heard
anything from him.
So then the next
day at the ballpark,
that was Joe Morgan Day.
It's not just here
at the ballpark
throughout Cincinnati,
Joe Morgan Day.
Johnny Bench was there.
Marty Brennaman, the voice
of the Reds, Bob Costas
you know, the kind of a group
that you would have expected.
And they had first
ball ceremonies
with all of Joe's kids
and his wife, Theresa,
and no Pete Rose.
And nobody had heard from Pete.
So then about the
seventh inning,
there was an announcement
between innings.
"Ladies and
gentlemen, Pete Rose."
You guys were so close as
as teammates and beyond.
Will you ever get
over losing Joe?
No.
He he was so young
and so energetic.
I used to do shows
with him all the time.
He was over in some other
private suite or whatever,
and everybody kind of
looked at Theresa, and
and and, you know, I
she didn't say
anything about it.
She didn't make an
issue out of it.
But you could see that
there was disappointment
like, well, he was one of Joe's
best friends in the world.
I think that was
sort of a puzzle,
and maybe part of the
enigma of Pete Rose.
I don't know.
But it was just something
that, you know, kind of
sort of stood out on
on that day, of all days.
Super Bowl Sunday in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
- No.
- No?
You know, there's probably
one of ten parties
I could go to.
But most people
don't go to a party
to watch the f*cking Super Bowl.
They go to get drunk.
Yeah.
And I don't need to
be around 100 drunks,
wanting to ask me questions
about this or that,
when I got a bet on the game.
Pete is sick.
He is an addict.
I know a little bit
about addiction,
because I'm alcoholic,
in recovery.
When given all the
reasons in the world
not to do something,
they still do it.
Is that a weakness in character?
Is that hubri what is that?
It's a disease.
When all this came
down and the FBI came
and all that stuff, I shared
the same thing with them,
that Pete Rose got addicted,
the disease of gambling.
He would bet on anything.
Now that he looks back,
he's probably thinking,
"Oh, my God, what
was I thinking?"
You know, but at the time,
that addiction took over,
and it was out of it
was like a heroin addict.
Yeah, because they
thought that
you know, that was one
of the weirdest things
I've ever been through,
Gambling Anonymous.
I'm listening to everybody give
their speech about gambling,
and not one guy made
any sense to me.
And these guys were stealing
money from their grandma
to gamble, and
stealing from this guy
or stealing from that guy.
I didn't do any of that stuff.
I did it partially
to try to convince
the judge to give me a break.
But I didn't get no break.
You know, I don't think
he's gonna change.
But maybe we can change.
You know, maybe we,
meaning the general public
that that look at Pete,
you know, negatively.
Maybe the Baseball Writers
can look at it differently.
Even if Pete himself can't
look at that and admit that,
maybe we can do that
for him, you know?
Maybe we can have some,
you know, sympathy
for him and his condition.
He's 81 now.
He could be someone that
we talk about in baseball
long after he's gone,
because his sins
are subject to revision
in the public eye.
Any time someone
does something wrong,
he'll be front and center
in the conversation
about, how should
this be handled?
And there it goes!
Can you say 66?
Oh!
Into the crowd, number 70!
A floater to Bonds,
and he hits it high.
He hits it deep.
Number 73!
Guys who clearly use steroids
some of them admitted
steroid guys
they may not be in the Hall,
but they're on the ballot.
Put Pete on the ballot.
Restart the clock, because
he was never on it,
and and see what
happens from there.
It could be any scandal
that touches baseball
or any other sport, and
Pete Rose will serve
as an example for how
it should be handled
or how it shouldn't be handled.
That might be his legacy,
just as much as 4,256 hits.
Here's a ground
ball, right side.
Could do it.
The Houston Astros
are world champions
for the first time
in franchise history!
Shockwaves are rippling
through Major League Baseball.
The league hit the Houston
Astros with harsh penalties
today for illegally using
technology to gain an edge.
They were using the center
field camera to decode signs,
and then they were taking
a bat and banging it
on a trash can.
No bang on the
trash can, fastball.
Bang on the trash can, some
sort of off-speed pitch.
Were you surprised?
I was surprised.
They didn't steal
signs back in your day?
They did.
They didn't steal them that way.
Where does this one
rank in your mind?
Number one! Number one!
So this is this is
worse than Pete Rose.
This is worse than anything
I've ever seen in the NBA,
in the NHL, in the
National Football League
I've had to write
about this, you know,
because there's always
this rush to compare
whatever the scandal of
the day is to Pete Rose.
And Pete Rose is almost like
the first one to tell you,
"Well, what I did
isn't as bad as this."
Pete Rose is applying,
again, for reinstatement.
What is the gist of
his argument this time?
He says his penalty,
30 1/2 years banned
from baseball,
is far more severe than
any of the penalties
that Major League
Baseball has handed down
in the steroids era.
And certainly, in the
last Houston Astros
sign-stealing scandal,
not a single player,
as you pointed
out, was suspended
a single game or fined.
The only slight difference
is that sign stealing
was an outgrowth of a practice
that has existed in
baseball for 150 years.
There's no murkiness to Rule 21
that Pete Rose violated.
No one in baseball, from
the commissioner on down,
has ever softened their stance
on letting an individual player,
manager, coach, executive
bet on the sport.
I think the problem that
baseball has going forward
is that the next generations
of players that are coming up
aren't gonna see the difference.
In a 6-to-3 vote, the
nation's highest court
struck down a 1992 ruling
that banned sports
gambling in many states.
The Hard Rock Casino
opened up today officially,
and the legend smashed
a guitar there.
Talking about Pete Rose.
Placed the first bet as well
to celebrate the reopening
Cincinnati Reds to
win the World Series!
I wonder if the
Commissioner of Baseball
is gonna be watching.
I hope not.
He'll put that in
my my minus column.
There he
is, gambling again.
- No, you're the VIP today.
We've got a
you've got a pass.
It's projected to be
a $129 billion industry by 2028.
Betting has become
increasingly intertwined
with the games themselves.
Leagues that once
insisted betting
would compromise the
integrity of their sports
have adopted a new position.
Sports gaming can be
an important source
of fan engagement.
We operate in a really
competitive environment,
and we have to take advantage
of every opportunity
to drive engagement by our fans.
How are you doing?
Thanks for all the great years.
Have a good night, Mr. Rose.
Hello, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Yet, I'm on the
outside looking out
because I gambled.
- Pete!
- Hustle.
How long do you punish a guy?
I've got the man right here!
- Oh, my God!
I love you.
Even today, I have
never been allowed
to go in the clubhouse
or the batting cage
at the ballpark.
That's how stupid
this whole thing is.
There's a shot
knocked down by King.
Hansen wheels it, and
no play at first
his first Major League hit.
And he'll be greeted with
another standing ovation.
Well, just another
4,255, he can catch Dad.
That was quite a moment
here in Cincinnati.
I think I might be the
only big league player
that I couldn't put my
dad on the pass list
for my game, for my my debut.
I couldn't have my dad in the
locker room after my debut.
I had to meet him outside
where all the fans were.
People don't
realize the whole
people aspect of
the whole thing.
I mean, yeah, he made a mistake,
but we all make mistakes.
I mean, we're
we're not perfect.
We're human. That's
kind of part of it.
You know, I went
through a period of time
when I got suspended,
everybody was like this
when I went to when
I came to the ballpark.
"Is he sitting in
the right seat?"
I mean, they were paranoid.
I quit going because
I made everybody's job
so uncomfortable.
- OK, big guy.
- Hey, Donnie.
- There you are.
- Good to see you.
Did he tell you?
You were joking?
I hate to say this, but
I'd have been better off
if I was a drunkard.
I'd have been better off
if I was a cocaine addict.
I'd have been better off
if I'd have beat my wife.
But I didn't do any
of the three things.
I gambled.
The difference is
you still can't bet
on the sport that
you're playing.
Integrity still matters.
It matters if the guys
who are controlling
the outcome of the
game are betting.
And it matters if they're
betting on themselves
or their opponents,
or the opponents are
gonna play in a week.
You know, you can't have that.
Integrity still
has to be the base
of everything that happens
in competitive sports,
even if it's no longer the base
of what happens
in American life.
I can't be someone different.
I've I've said I'm sorry
that I bet on baseball
probably 2 million times.
Everybody's not gonna hear you.
Everybody's not gonna hear you.
Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose
is asking, once
again, to be allowed
into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 81-year-old wrote a letter
to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
to apologize for
the gambling scandal
that led to the league
banning him from baseball.
In the letter, Rose writes
No.
I saw I mean, I saw when it
came out like anyone else did.
It was a "what the eff" moment,
because he had just sort
of come from Philadelphia.
That didn't go
particularly well for him,
even if he perhaps had
his best intentions.
And I thought he needed
to give breathing room
from that moment to then seeking
any sort of movement or clarity
from Major League Baseball.
As long as I'm alive,
I gotta keep fighting.
I gotta get that feeling
of being presented a trophy
that puts you in
the Hall of Fame.
I think if I ever went in,
I'd be the happiest
one of all of them.
If there were a change
by the Hall of Fame
not by baseball, but
by the Hall of Fame
I think that younger
sportswriters and
which they mostly are now,
as opposed to guys
like myself
might be inclined
to to vote for him.
Every ballot of mine had
Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.
They never got in.
If Pete Rose was deemed eligible
and put on the Writers'
ballot, which he wouldn't be
if he were, would
I check the box?
Hell yeah, I would.
You see all these
things on Pete.
You know, whatever
whatever it is,
positive, negative, whatever.
But you know, guys strive to do
what he did in the
game as a player.
That's what you live for.
As a kid from Texas,
I was a hustle guy.
They called me
Captain Intensity.
You know, I always knew that
I wasn't blessed with grace.
And I I always knew that
I wasn't the best player.
We saw more Hunter Pence
signs in Milwaukee and here
and in Kansas City.
And even Pete Rose got into it.
And he says Hunter Pence
hustles his you-know-what off.
And for Charlie Hustle,
that's a heck of a compliment.
Talking with Hunter Pence
this morning about that
Having that whole
Pete Rose comparison,
like, kind of struck
me to my core
Because for me, it was
like, I'm all heart.
Like, no one loves being
out here more than me.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
There's a lot of
things that Pete did
that elevated our game.
Today, it's in the
hands of Rob Manfred.
And Rob Manfred
has said, you know,
"As far as the Hall
of Fame is concerned,
"that's not my place.
"That's not my job.
That's the Hall of Fame's job."
I 100% believe if
you bet on baseball,
you should be banned
from baseball for life.
The fact that you should
not be able to work
or be involved in the
game in a way that
you could affect an outcome
should not be the same
test as to whether
you should be in
the Hall of Fame.
It's a museum, after all.
It is not a competitive
undertaking.
You know
I don't know.
We're running out of time.
f*cking sideburns are long.
I know, you hippie.
And gray.
Silver.
It's time.
I mean, what he did is just
so phenomenal and unbelievable.
At a certain point,
don't we live in
a "bygones be bygones" world?
I hope, for Pete's sake, we do.
Who do you want Sunday?
I'm surprised you're not
going. It's in Arizona.
I have never been to a
Super Bowl in my life.
- Well, that makes two of us.
- There's 57 of them.
That makes two of us.
I bet Philly.
I already bet them.
- I like Philly.
I bet them yesterday.
- I like Philly.
- What do I know?
From the outside, it's
already kind of a sad tale.
And when he dies, it's gonna be
a great American tragedy
his life, not his death.
His life will be a
great American tragedy.
But in baseball, he'll
always be a cautionary tale.
I hope Pete Rose doesn't
give up the fight,
even if he may not win.
You know, my view is, I don't
want to go to Cooperstown
and not see a
plaque with the guy
who got the most
hits in history.
He drives a lot of feeling,
a lot of passion in people.
And I always felt like
the people who were
cheering for him, you know,
they're cheering for themselves.
They're cheering for
their childhood memories.
It's nice to think
that they're cheering
for forgiveness for somebody
who they'd like to
see be forgiven.
I know it's hard for him,
and I'm sure it's hard for
those people who loved him.
But baseball has to
look beyond that,
has to see a bigger
picture than that,
even if Rose can't see a
bigger picture than that.
I have come to the conclusion
that he will be in the
Baseball Hall of Fame
one day, but they are
gonna make damn sure
it doesn't happen
until after he's gone.
And I think if, in
fact, that occurs,
that'll be the
greatest injustice
that's ever been perpetrated
upon a person in this game.
Welcome back, everybody.
I mean, it doesn't get
much better than this.
All here to see the
pre-game roll call.
The guys heading
inside the stadium,
and they'll be back
in just a little bit.
But in the meantime,
let's talk about
the NFC champion
Philadelphia Eagles.
- There you go.
Earlier this season,
five-time Pro Bowl cornerback
Darius Slayton gave
Phillies wide receiver
a superhero nickname.
When I was when
I got in trouble,
I was the biggest
player in the game.
I was the biggest
player in the game.
Have you seen
I got my lunch all set.
On the kicking game.
Have you seen any punters?
Tommy Thompson no.
I don't see any.
No no Jake Elliott
jerseys out here, no.
Charles, have you seen any
return jerseys out here?
I haven't seen any guys
no Turners, no jerseys.
Five hours pre-game, we've
talked about the offense
and defense of both teams.
And I'm gonna tell
you right now,
ain't nobody gonna
beat my record.
Ain't nobody gonna
beat my record.
They don't have it in
them to beat my record.
And I broke the record in 1985.
How many years ago was that?
40 years.
I'm gonna I'm
gonna have the record
of being suspended the longest.
I got the record for
being suspended
and a hell of a record.
Uh, you know,
I made mistakes when
I when I gambled.
No question about it.
But to be honest with you
this is an honest statement
I quit gambling.
I quit. I quit.
I haven't made a
bet in six months,
and I have no desire to.
- Where are you
- So are we done?
'Cause I gotta go make a bet.
No, I'm just kidding.
Hi.
- Hi.
How you doing?
- Where do you want me?
Sit right here?
Yeah.
No, I haven't.
I'm I'm not lying.
I'm not gonna lie to you.
If I'm gonna lie, I'm
not gonna start now.
I am no longer Pete
Rose the gambler.
What do you want on the ball?
These are we were
gonna do Charlie Hustle,
or we're gonna do 4,256.
It just wasn't it
wasn't fun no more.
Most of my gambling
was my entertainment.
Watching "Monday
Night Football,"
but betting on it.
But all of a sudden, it didn't
become fun for me anymore.
Well, we appreciate
you doing this.
This is something we're
running low on inventory,
so this is gonna help
us out quite a bit.
I don't miss gambling.
It took a long time for me
to realize you can't win.
You can win, but you can't win.
Does that make any sense?
If your boy Joe Burrow
makes it to the
Super Bowl this year,
are you gonna place
a bet on the Bengals?
No, I'm not betting on nothing.
No.
Especially the
Bengals right now.
I signed 1,000
baseballs last week.
"Sorry I bet on baseball."
1,000 baseballs with that?
Took me 2 1/2 days.
And the guy wants another 1,000.
- Wow.
- People buy that ball.
I don't know why, but
they buy that ball.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
01x04 - One Last record
Watch/Buy Amazon
Chronicling baseball legend Pete Rose's career, rise to fame, scandals and bid for reinstatement, with archival footage and interviews exploring his contradictory persona as both a tenacious hustler and a fallen icon tainted by gambling.
Chronicling baseball legend Pete Rose's career, rise to fame, scandals and bid for reinstatement, with archival footage and interviews exploring his contradictory persona as both a tenacious hustler and a fallen icon tainted by gambling.