Happy 66th to the Hit King!

[savafan]

Happy Birthday Pete!

[Redlegs]

Here, here!

Best birthday wishes to the Hit King. Thanks for making the 'Nati the best place to grow up in the 70's and 80's, Pete!

[Red in Chicago]

happy b-day to my all time favorite player that got me interested in the reds and baseball in general

[reds1869]

Happy birthday to a true Cincinnati legend!

[Degenerate39]

Happy Birthday Charlie

[Degenerate39]

I just realized his birthday was on the 14th

[Always Red]

Happy Birthday to my first boyhood hero (well, it was close between Pete, Johnny Bench and Neil Armstrong)!

[Sham]

I find irony in the Bonds hate and Rose love by people. But that's just me.

[Redlegs]

I find irony in the Bonds hate and Rose love by people. But that's just me.

Pete's arrogant, but Bonds is a turd. There's your difference.

[Degenerate39]

I find irony in the Bonds hate and Rose love by people. But that's just me.

Pete didn't cheat

[Always Red]

I find irony in the Bonds hate and Rose love by people. But that's just me.

Pete's arrogant, but Bonds is a turd. There's your difference.

Sham, I'll try to explain:

When I was 8 years old (1969), everyone in Cincinnati loved Pete Rose; what was there not to like?

He grew up on the west side of town, and loved baseball, same as me. Hell, Pete even went to high school with my mom. They didn't know each other, but she knew about him.

I'm not that 9 year old kid anymore, and I have learned to separate my nostalgia for the truly one of a kind ballplayer from the deeply flawed man. After a few beers on a Saturday night, when I find out it's Rose's birthday, I wax nostalgic, and can wish one of my childhood heros a happy birthday.

If you can not tell the difference between Rose the player, and Bonds the player, then I cannot help you, Sham. Rose sullied his name, his reputation and his life after his days as an active player. His numbers, such as they are, were honestly earned; every single stinkin' at bat (14,053, almost 2000 more than the next closest, Hammerin' Henry Aaron).

Barry Bonds chose a different path. He will go down in history with Rose, infamous both of them. But Bonds chose to cheat on the field of play; his numbers are tainted- all of them. And it's a shame a crying shame, and someday we'll see the proud Bonds break down and cry over what he chose to do. Barry Bonds is one of the best batsmen I have ever witnessed in my life; there was simply no reason for him to do what he did. Why did he do it? Pride, I suspect...

Yes, Rose is a cheater, same as Bonds, no doubt. But his stats were rightly and honorably earned, and Bonds' were not. Subtle difference, but still, a difference, nonetheless.

Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series along with 7 other teammates. Jackson took the money from the gamblers, but then decided not to go along with them. In that World Series, Jackson hit .375, had 12 hits, a home run and 6 RBI, and on base % of .400. Excellent play, from Joe Jackson, on the biggest stage.

Didn't sound like he was throwing a game, did it? No he did not. But he took the money, and he was gone.

Rose and Jackson are easy- Jackson actually less so than Rose. Did you know that the 8 Black Sox were actually acquitted, by a court of law, of conspiring to throw the series? Landis didn't care, he threw them all out. Needed to be done, too. Good decision. "Say it ain't so, Joe." There is movement afoot to try to get Joe into the HoF, but I think it's far too late for Joe. That ship has sailed. Perception becomes reality after a while, eh?

Rose's case was pretty well cut and dried, as far as I'm concerned. He broke the golden rule, and did it while managing a team, which gave him much further leeway in any opportunity to throw a game. Good decision, needed to be done. I might have cried at the time, I don't recall, but I do remember being very, very angry with my childhood hero. Now, I'm mostly just sad for him...

What to do with Barry Bonds? He didn't try to throw a game. He and his ilk pumped up their stats, using illegal drugs, in order to break records and to make a better salary for themselves. It worked, too. All of them are multimillionaires (well, except for Jason Grimsley!). But they have to look at themselves in the mirror everyday, and consider what they did to the game they love. I have no doubt that they love the game, but just consider the shame of Mark McGwire, who is never seen or heard from anymore.

Well, all I can say, is Happy Birthday, Peter Edward Rose. Many of the ideals we hold dear in childhood get shattered when we reach maturity. That's sad, but that's OK, it's all a part of life. The older I get, the closer I hold those childhood dreams to my heart! My dad passed a couple of years ago, and I choose not to remember the difficult times we had together, as a mid-aged father and a teen-aged son (me), but rather the great times we had when I was a kid, and then later, when he was a loving grandfather. In much the same way, I'm hoping for better days for Rose, if he can just keep his mouth shut!

PS- I visited the Neil Armstrong museum (another of my childhood heros) in Wapakoneta a couple of years ago- it is a fascinating place, and I highly recommend it to anyone who grew up in Ohio or is interested in space or airplanes at all.

[reds1869]

Always Red:

A truly classic post.

[Sham]

Great post Always Red.

To degenerate10 who negative repped me for that post I would say I'm sorry you don't have the cognitive ability that Always Red has to put your thoughts into words in a meaningfull response.

[goreds2]

Happy Birthday to my first boyhood hero (well, it was close between Pete, Johnny Bench and Neil Armstrong)!

Same here but I have to add Raquel Welch to that list.

(Happy birthday Pete!)

[Always Red]

Same here but I have to add Raquel Welch to that list.

(Happy birthday Pete!)

Well, Farrah Fawcett as well, then!