Pete Rose Still Doesn’t Get It

I just heard Pete Rose on the Dan Patrick show this morning. He spoke, almost braggingly, that he only bet on his team, the Reds, to win every game. His tone of voice almost begged, “Where’s the crime in that?” Rose still doesn’t get it. He still doesn’t seem to realize that being the manager of a team, and betting on that team to win, by its very nature changes the game. There had to be nights when he was pressing himself and his team to win because he had $2,000 on the game (he admitted this amount on the Patrick show).

We all know what it’s like to press too hard to win. On the golf course, when we need a good drive on the final hole, at the free throw line to win the game, at the plate thinking we need a home run–we all know we can’t perform our best in these situations when we are pressing, when we are feeling that pressure to succeed.

In pressing, he might have left his starting pitcher in too long, or pulled him too soon, which would have overtaxed his bull pen and affected games later that week. He might have called a steal or a hit and run in desperation to get that run he needed to win $2,000 that night. In pressing to win, he was not managing his best and he was not serving his team or the game of baseball. His gambling was perverting the game, and he still doesn’t get it.

To cap off the interview, Rose claimed that he should be managing again, that his presence would be better for the team, the city and for baseball. Managing is the last thing he should be doing. Put him in the Hall of Fame before giving him control of a team. He still doesn’t get it.