Pete Rose

I attended a fundraiser last night where Pete Rose was the featured speaker.  I have met Pete enough times that he knows me by name.  I will be the first to say that you can call Pete all kinds of things: 'Hit King', 'Convicted Felon', 'Compulsive Gambler', 'Charlie Hustle'.  The fact is that he is all of them and he won't deny many of the labels that people put by his name...although maybe he should have stopped denying the labels long before now. 

There were a couple of things that Pete talked about last night that I thought were notable: 

First, he is going to be the next Red honored with a statue at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.  Pete was born and raised in Cincinnati and played the vast majority of his major league career here.  This city means something to Pete and this honor really hits home for him.  But what he said was that 'statues are for people that are dead' and that bothered me quite a bit.  If we don't honor people when they are alive then why bother honoring them at all?  My mother passed away in 2009, I go to the cemetery to honor her memory from time to time but, let's face it, that moment of reflection is for me, not her.  We should never shy away from honoring those around us that have made a difference...and we should do it when they are able to hear the appreciation.

Second, Pete is very comfortable now with who he is.  He is happy.  In all of the times that I have seen him this is the most at ease that he has been.  Is that because his full issues are now out in the open and there are no more secrets?  I don't know.  Only Pete knows that.  But I think the induction into the Reds Hall of Fame has put something back into Pete that was lost during all these years of turmoil.  Kudos to the Reds.  He talked quite openly about how being from Cincinnati and playing in winning World Series games was an amazing experience.  He discussed how it would have been for Johnny Bench if the games were played in Binger, Oklahoma instead of Cincinnati.  He made great points about his pride in his home town.

Thanks, Pete.  You have served more time being kicked out of baseball than some murderers spend in prison.  Thanks to the Reds for honoring your career and I sincerely hope that Major League Baseball follows suit very soon.