Goodbye Pete Rose

 

Pete Rose has died and it's a true Goodbye 20th Century Event for Disaster Amnesiac. I'm just old enough to recall his glory days the 1970's Cincinnati Reds a bit, and his Superstar era with the Philadelphia Phillies quite a bit more. His work ethic was mind boggling in its breadth. His love for baseball and his commitment to developing performances worthy of the public's attention were never fake, despite the ignominious fall from grace which hit him in 1989. It appeared as though that the time since his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball was spent on a kind of shameful apology tour. A time shrouded in Tragedy to be sure. Still, if one thinks back to the years leading up to that fall, one will surely be inspired by the actions of a man of deep focus and rough hewn, American grittiness. Pete Rose worked really hard to get to his spot among the top baseball players ever. It's hoped that he held on to the satisfaction of that sheer determination to just keep going, despite all of the obstacles. Hopefully now the MLB Hall of Fame will deign to recognize him for his brilliance within the sport. Hopefully, in some other dimension, Pete Rose is doing a hard slide into a base that's being manned by Bart Giamatti, cleats up and breathing fire.