Pete Rose is ratchet. Not usually the word you would use to describe an 81-year-old white baseball giant, but it is what it is. The three-time World Series champion was back in Philadelphia. He won his final championship in 1980 to commemorate the win during alum weekend at the Phillies’ home game against the Washington Nationals.
He couldn’t help but be himself.
For Rose, who will forever be ornery knowing that his baseball ban is still keeping him out of the Hall of Fame, the return to Philly was a mix of joy and an opportunity to ask him about old pain; that wasn’t going to work for Ratchet Rose.
I asked Pete Rose what he would say to people who say his presence here sends a negative message to women. His response: “No, I’m not here to talk about that. Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago babe.”
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 7, 2022
Although Rose received a standing ovation from the crowd, he was asked by a female reporter about the sexual relationship he reportedly had with an underage girl in the 1970s, and he wasn’t for the tea extraction.
“No, I’m not here to talk about that,” Rose said to The Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. “Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago, babe.”
Nobody must have told Rose that the “Me Too” movement squashed all the gender-specific “babe” slang.
However, Rose was far from finished or done.
Rose was made available after the ceremony. Someone, maybe an agent, said he had something to say to me, but he didn't seem to know he was expected to say anything. He asked if he'd offended me, and said "will you forgive me if I sign 1000 baseballs for you" before saying "sorry" https://t.co/w5ikH1jKDR
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 7, 2022
“I’m going to tell you one more time. I’m here for the Philly fans,” Rose said when asked by The Associated Press about his comments. “I’m here for my teammates. I’m here for the Phillies organization. And who cares what happened 50 years ago? You weren’t even born. So you shouldn’t be talking about it, because you weren’t born. If you don’t know a damn thing about it, don’t talk about it.”
Later, Rose attempted to resolve the situation with a peace offering that came off even more condescending and out of touch.
“Will you forgive me if I sign 1,000 baseballs for you?” Rose said before ultimately providing a “sorry.”
In 2017, Rose was the subject of federal court testimony, alleging that he had a relationship with a girl in Cincinnati who was underage when their association started. In a sworn statement submitted by the woman in court filings, the woman reportedly said the relationship with Rose began in 1973, and went on for a couple of years.
Pete Rose tells the story about the time he hit a “cock-high fastball” because “no shit” https://t.co/TyJhofu6em
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 7, 2022
However, Rose admitted that the entanglement “began sometime in 1975” in court filings, believing she was 16 and confirming they did have sex. Rose was 34 years old and married with two children then; however, the statute of limitations allowed Rose to avoid a statutory rape charge.
“Sometime after that, Pete Rose and I began meeting at a house in Cincinnati,” the woman’s statement said. “It was at that house where, before my 16th birthday, Pete Rose began a sexual relationship with me. This sexual relationship lasted for several years. Pete Rose also met me in locations outside of Ohio where we had sex.”
Pete Rose gets in the booth today and horrifies the Phillies announcers by talking about cocks and shit because, well, he’s Pete fucking Rose, man. pic.twitter.com/kVifF4yOob
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) August 7, 2022
Later Rose entered the broadcast booth during Sunday’s NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast of the game and at one point asked if it was an “X-rated show” because he was there to swear. From discussing having to “watch out for the horseshit” on the field to proclamations like “son of a bitch,” Rose was in peak Rose form.
Although still lamenting his exile from baseball while receiving unapologetic love from the fans he delivered a championship to, Pete Rose remains the most enigmatic and polarizing figure baseball has ever had.
