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A Belligerent Rose Only a Bit Apologetic
AP.com ^ | 01/08/2004 | Ronald Blum

Posted on 01/08/2004 2:51:25 PM PST by GeneD

NEW YORK (AP) -- Occasionally contrite but repeatedly the defiant, belligerent spark plug fans love, Pete Rose blames his accusers and medical conditions for the problems that got him kicked out of baseball.

Rose spills his thoughts in a colorful autobiography, "Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars," released Thursday by Rodale Inc. Rose, still banned 14 1/2 years later, also concedes for the first time that he bet on Cincinnati Reds games while he was manager in the late 1980s.

The highly touted 322-page book contains no other bombshells. It alternates between apologies for his wrongs and the aggressiveness Rose showed during a 24-season major league career.

Rose writes he has had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Behavior, which he says he got from his mother, and the book contains several quotes from a doctor about the effects. He repeats that he still loves to gamble legally at racetracks, and describes himself as "grumpy, short-tempered and cold-hearted."

He also talks about the emotional moment when he faced his family before going to prison and "humiliating body searches" in prison. He recounts anecdotes of his career such as taking an umpire to dinner after he was ejected from a game and makes a few puerile jokes.

He also compares his compulsive gambling to the behavior of former President Clinton, actors Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder, and blames former Reds manager Jack McKeon and general manager Jim Bowden for not giving Pete Rose Jr. enough of a chance when he played for Cincinnati in 1997.

On Wednesday, Rose insisted he didn't plan to draw attention away from the elections of Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor to baseball's Hall of Fame this week.

"I never intended to diminish the exciting news for these deserving players," Rose said in a statement.

What Rose intended for his public confession has gone terribly awry, former teammate Mike Schmidt said.

"It doesn't look good, it's taken a turn for the worse," Schmidt told the AP. "It is a sad thing. ... I haven't heard anything good, but I hope the commissioner is reserving judgment. I've heard some of the worst references about Pete."

Rose repeatedly challenges the report on his gambling by John Dowd and the accusations made by his former associates before he accepted a lifetime ban in August 1989.

Rose said at the time of the investigation, he couldn't believe the way baseball treated him, calling baseball's evidence "flimsy."

"I spent 24 years building a baseball career that other players could only dream of," he wrote.

"And I put it all at risk over the thrill of `risk' itself. I spent thousands of hours in the batting cage. I took hundreds of grounders and fly balls each day in an effort to master my craft. I was known for a diligent work ethic that was unequaled among my peers. Nobody worked harder or took the game more seriously than Pete Rose - nobody. Yet after knowing (Paul) Janszen for only seven months, I trusted him to place bets on the game I loved. How could I be so disciplined in one aspect of my life and so reckless in the other? ...

"I was Pete Rose - baseball's all-time Hit King. I had more records than anybody on the damn planet. Nothing could possibly be wrong with someone who achieved that much success - nothing! ... I was Charlie Hustle - baseball legend. I would not go down without a fight."

Rose writes about the day he went to federal prison in 1990 after pleading guilty to tax charges and talked to his son, Tyler, then 6.

"I had no answer for the betrayed look in Tyler's eyes," Rose wrote. "My dad never let me down on any level and failing my own son was too tough to handle. So hell, I started to cry, too - rare for me because, like I said, I'm not a warm-and-fuzzy guy. ... As you can imagine, this was the lowest point in my life."

He says that in prison, he was given identification No. 01832-061.

"I never thought I'd be wearing anything other than No. 14 on my back," Rose wrote, adding that guards "couldn't help but gawk at the sight of Charlie Hustle in lockdown."

Rose pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false income taxes by failing to report income and was sentenced to five months in prison, three months in a halfway house and 1,000 hours of community service.

"I'm probably the only person in America to go to jail for underpaying his taxes by 4 percent," Rose wrote. Then he added, "The responsibility rested squarely on my shoulders. I just wasn't ready to accept it."

The book quotes Dr. David E. Comings of the City of Hope National Medical Center on ADHD and how it applies to Rose.

"ADHD kids are very strong-willed. They don't like anyone telling them what to do," Comings said. "Although they can't sit still or focus on subjects of little or no interest, their restless energy when focused can by dynamite. Pete Rose is not unlike Einstein, who flunked English but excelled in math."

Rose says he hopes commissioner Bud Selig will grant his application for reinstatement.

"My actions, which I thought were benign, call the integrity of the game into question," Rose wrote. "And there's no excuse for that, but there's also no reason to punish me forever."

Rose blames former commissioner Fay Vincent for the 1991 rule that bars him from the Hall ballot and wants "to enjoy my Hall of Fame induction ceremony while I was still alive!"

---

AP Sports Writers Joe Kay in Cincinnati and Ben Walker in New York contributed to this report


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Ohio; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: apology; baseball; peterose; thestinkingrose
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1 posted on 01/08/2004 2:51:26 PM PST by GeneD
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To: GeneD
In 1978 I got a signed photograph of my favorite baseball player. It was Pete Rose. What I darn shame.
2 posted on 01/08/2004 2:54:41 PM PST by .cnI redruM (Jimmy Carter IS The Mouth of Sauron...)
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To: .cnI redruM
Correction - What a darn shame.
3 posted on 01/08/2004 2:55:06 PM PST by .cnI redruM (Jimmy Carter IS The Mouth of Sauron...)
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To: All
Linda Carter is completely unrelated to Free Republic. But if I am going to have to post donation begs until the Freepathon is over, I'm going to occasionally post something I want! And there is only one way you can stop me!

4 posted on 01/08/2004 2:56:15 PM PST by Support Free Republic (Happy New Year)
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To: GeneD
They can put him in the hall and still prevent him from working in baseball, which is what should be done. His accomplishments on the field earned his place in the hall, period.
5 posted on 01/08/2004 2:57:23 PM PST by BlueNgold (Feed the Tree .....)
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To: .cnI redruM
Rose says he never bet against the Reds. But the guy has a gambling problem. How plausible is it that he resisted the temptation of throwing a game or shaving a run or two?
6 posted on 01/08/2004 3:01:41 PM PST by Shermy
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To: BlueNgold
This "accomplishment" still riles me.

IMHO Rose deserves nothing but disgrace.

I wonder how much, if anything, did Pete bet on that game?

7 posted on 01/08/2004 3:04:33 PM PST by BenLurkin (Socialism is Slavery)
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To: GeneD
Maybe Bill Bennett, the gambling czar will say a word on Pete's behalf. Bennett has been welcomed back.

Or perhaps Rose could appeal to President Bush for amnesty in breaking baseball laws. Baseball as an employer could determine that on one wants to manage a baseball team in Cincinatti and could write a letter promising a job to Rose.

8 posted on 01/08/2004 3:15:12 PM PST by ex-snook (Protectionism is patriotism in the war for American jobs.)
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To: .cnI redruM
He recounts anecdotes of his career such as taking an umpire to dinner after he was ejected from a game . . .

Maybe it's just me, but this seems like a clear violation of Major League Baseball's code of ethics for umpires. They are specifically told not to fraternize with any of the players, and I believe this applies both on and off the field.

9 posted on 01/08/2004 3:25:05 PM PST by Alberta's Child (Alberta -- the TRUE North strong and free.)
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To: ex-snook
The Rose Litany

1987-- I don't gamble

1991-- Okay, I gamble but not on sports

1994-- Okay I gamble on sports but not baseball. Only football and Basketball.

1998- Okay..I bet on Baseball but not on the Reds games

2004- Okay, I bet on Reds games but never against the Reds

2005...?

2007....?
10 posted on 01/08/2004 3:45:45 PM PST by tcuoohjohn (Follow The Money)
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To: GeneD
Pet Rose may not be a likeable guy, but you cant take away his career. Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Baseball is crap for not allowing him in. Illegal bats and steroids seem not to bother them in the least.
11 posted on 01/08/2004 4:32:31 PM PST by sgtbono2002 (I aint wrong, I aint sorry , and I am probably going to do it again.)
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To: Shermy
About the same as you posting praise for Bush.
12 posted on 01/08/2004 4:57:47 PM PST by cksharks (quote from)
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To: ex-snook
You have rapists, murderers,physical attackers,dope addicts, drunks,people who spit in umpires faces and the only person who is guilty and caint play is Rose. I have two words for this horse shit.
13 posted on 01/08/2004 5:01:36 PM PST by cksharks (quote from)
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To: GeneD
Put his bust in the Clinton Lieberry.
14 posted on 01/08/2004 6:05:04 PM PST by razorback-bert
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To: GeneD
I wonder what would be sufficient contrition for the folks with all this venom. Would you be content if Pete poked out each of his eyes with a hot poker? Maybe he should cut out his tongue. Have his hands cut off. Will any of those work? Get a life! If Sainthood were part of the criteria for the HOF, how many of the plaques would need to be removed?
15 posted on 01/08/2004 7:38:17 PM PST by Chu Gary (USN Intel guy 1967 - 1970)
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To: tcuoohjohn
The Rose Litany

1987-- I don't gamble

1991-- Okay, I gamble but not on sports

1994-- Okay I gamble on sports but not baseball. Only football and Basketball.

1998- Okay..I bet on Baseball but not on the Reds games

2004- Okay, I bet on Reds games but never against the Reds

2005...Okay, I bet on baseball as a player.

2007....Yeh, I bet on my own team as a player.

He was a slap-hitting gutterboy. No Hall of Fame, PeteyHustler!

16 posted on 01/09/2004 12:23:01 AM PST by thesummerwind (Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin' by)
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To: GeneD; Shermy; BenLurkin; Alberta's Child; tcuoohjohn; sgtbono2002; razorback-bert
What could any reasonable person who is familiar with Pete Rose ever believe that he didn't most likely bet on baseball as a player too?
17 posted on 01/09/2004 12:28:36 AM PST by thesummerwind (Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin' by)
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To: Chu Gary; Hegewisch Dupa; metalboy; camle; 1Old Pro; Zack Nguyen; Semper Paratus; CatoRenasci; ...
It's amazing to me that some people feel the way you do on this. Most likely, you never played professional sports.

I am going to make an analogy here that may be a little off, but it could help illustrate what gambling means in baseball, and means to team mates and to others in the league.

Think of a family business, and think of one member of that family business stealing from that venture, or messing with the books. Rose did the same sort of thing with baseball and his team mates. That's a BIG no no.

No Hall of Fame for the eternal lying slug.

18 posted on 01/09/2004 12:40:07 AM PST by thesummerwind (Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin' by)
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To: GeneD; Shermy; BenLurkin; Alberta's Child; tcuoohjohn; sgtbono2002; razorback-bert
That should read -- How could any reasonable person who is familiar with Pete Rose ever believe that he didn't bet on baseball as a player too?
19 posted on 01/09/2004 12:42:55 AM PST by thesummerwind (Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin' by)
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To: thesummerwind; Chu Gary; cksharks; sgtbono2002
Years ago, as a child living in the City of East Cleveland, I watched in dismay as Pete Rose ended the career of Indian catcher Ray Fosse. Rose barreled viciously into Fosse during an all star game.

The warm Cleveland evening turned bitter as I puzzled in my young mind over why Rose would do such an awful thing in a meaningless exhibition game. The bitterness lasted and grew over the years; no one could mention the name of Pete Rose without my ire rising yet again over the seemingly senseless act.

Then years later the betting scandal broke. It all became clear to me (though this is still just my allegation). Rose made an unnecessary play, ending a popular player's career, in an exhibition game (supposed to be fun) BECAUSE HE HAD BET ON THE GAME.

May Rose NEVER get into the Hall of Fame. He deserves to end his life in shame, in my opinion.
20 posted on 01/09/2004 3:32:54 AM PST by BenLurkin (Socialism is Slavery)
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