There is a new biography out on Pete Rose, with the title and subtitle telling it all: Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Days of Baseball.
Like Pete, author Keith O’Brien grew up in Cincinnati, and he, too, was a passionate Reds fan. When it came to writing this poignant piece of sports literature, O’Brien chronicled all the history-making hits, and addressed all of Rose’s warts, too. He didn’t whitewash anything. Initially, the firebrand subject cooperated with the author, but he eventually resigned from the cooperative stance.
Having had some friendly exposure to Rose when he was managing the Reds, I particularly enjoyed this book. My exposure was purely fan-oriented, though. I have always enjoyed meeting accomplished athletes and hearing their tales and takes on things.
It all began in the late 1980s, when Rose had retired as a player but was managing the Reds. He tried to instill in his players the tenets of Charlie Hustle, which had enabled him to break Ty Cobb’s hit record despite many experts at the time saying it was unlikely. Pete was 44 years old when he hit a single against the San Diego Padres for his 4,192nd career hit to dethrone the Georgia Peach, as Cobb was known.
Pete’s other records included most games played (3,562), most times at bat (14,053), and most seasons with 200 hits or more (10, tied in 2010 by Ichiro Suzuki).
Before I got to know him, and Georgia played Kentucky in Lexington in even-numbered years. I frequently saw him at the betting window at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, a little over an hour’s drive from Cincinnati.
When the Reds played in Atlanta, I would go by Pete’s office in the visitor’s clubhouse and engage him in conversation. He was always very approachable and a delightful conversationalist. He loved life at the ballpark and never gave me the cold shoulder.
When he made the connection that I was a member of the UGA staff, we often talked football, too, which he had played as a kid and still enjoyed. During one of these drop-in conversations, one day, out of the blue, Pete said, “Tell me about Vince Dooley. What’s he like?”
I perked up and gave him the answer I would have outlined to anybody. “Vince is a damn fine football coach,” I said. “He is a sound, fundamental football coach whose teams do not beat themselves. He believes the safest way to victory is to run the football and stop the run. He believes that if you run the football, play aggressive defense, and underscore the kicking game, that you will win more often than not.”
He said nothing momentarily and then said, “His teams sure beat the spread a lot.” If I had been a seasoned sportswriter who covered Pete Rose for years, his answer would not have surprised me.
In another session, Pete told me he thought his son was a Big League prospect and asked, “Would Georgia be interested in recruiting Petey?”
My answer was that I would find out. I asked the late Steve Webber, then the Georgia coach. “We might be,” Steve said. “What kind of a student is he?” Then he answered his own question. “I know somebody up that way who can find out.” A few days later, Webber called me laughing. “Petey may be the worst student in Ohio,” he said he was told. “My contract says Petey likes three things about school: lunch, baseball, and recess.”
Like father, like son.
It has been long established that many athletes are not Phi Beta Kappa material. Some of their problems are laziness, a lack of effort and discipline, and ego and arrogance.
While Pete Rose was pleasant to be around, he never could admit he was wrong. Even today, his side of the story remains different from MLB’s, which documented that he bet on Reds games. This is why his name is not on the Hall of Fame ballot and likely never will be during his time on Earth—perhaps never, forever.
O’Brien’s Charlie Hustle discloses that Pete Rose thought he could get away with violating Rule 21, which is posted in every MLB locker room – and has been for decades.
Every person with any sentiment for Pete Rose, the consummate athlete, will concede that whatever you say about the man’s good side, he brought upon all his countless troubles himself.
O’Brien has written a terrific book that reveals that for every hit Rose had in his career, he shot himself in the foot an equal number of times.