Quote:
Originally Posted by homerunhitter
Not taking about Pete rose the gambler or pets rose the manager but…as a PLAYER, did anyone love or play the game better than Pete Rose? Why doesn’t he have more hobby love? (As a player)
|
Rose was a great role model as a player. He's the reason I decided early on that I never wanted to be a major league player, although I loved (and still do) baseball. In an interview, Pete told of having a batting cage in his basement, and taking 100 swings right-handed, and 100 swings left-handed, every day during the off-season. I remember thinking I didn't love baseball THAT much.
Pete was a pretty average player in high school, but he was the ultimate over-achiever, through hard work, desire, and hustle. And he was a winner several times. He took care of himself, obviously, to last long enough to get all those hits.
If Rose had the personality of a Tony Gwynn or Stan Musial, he might've been the most popular player of the second half of the 20th century. Ruth the first.