PETE ROSE IS FEELING THE HEAT OF JEET

Let me start by saying that I love Pete Rose.  When I was a kid, I spent a few years living in Kentucky, right around the time the Big Red Machine was the greatest thing in baseball. If we ever visited Ohio, there were a ton of Reds fans. Around that time I saw Pete Rose play and I knew his hustle was the way you played the game.  Years later there's another guy that I admire, he happens to play on my favorite team, and his name is Derek Sanderson Jeter.

Joe Posnanski from Sports on Earth has a great piece called Holding Court with the Hit King. In it, Pete Rose obviously says what he says to try and protect any attachment he has left in the game of baseball, his all time hits record and here are some great quotes from Mr. Rose about how he doesn't believe Derek Jeter will ever break his record:

“First of all, I don’t think he wants to leave the Yankees. And the Yankees, they’re about winning... Jeter had a great year this year, but he’s what? Thirty-eight years old? And he’s a shortstop? How many 40-year-old shortstops you see walking around? Not too many, right?... And they can’t put him at third because ARod’s there. They can’t put him at second ‘cause [Robinson] Cano’s there. He don’t help them in left field — he’s got to be in the center of things, you know what I mean? What are they going to do? Put him at first base?”

Then he went on...because that's what Rose does, he talks:

 “He still needs 950 hits, right?... He had a great year this year, but you think he can do that again? At 39? A shortstop? Let’s say he does it again. Let’s say he gets 200 more hits next year. And let’s say he gets 200 more hits when he’s 40, though I don’t think he can. OK, can he get 200 more hits when he’s 41? You think he can?”

Look, I get it. We all know that Derek Jeter is older these days and this idea that he could break Pete Rose's all-time hits record seems absolutely ridiculous.

But think about this; when Pete Rose was playing, no one thought anyone would break Ty Cobb's record either.  Couple that with the fact that Posnanski is quoting "the guy" that is actually holding the hits record. Plus, this is the same guy that lied about gambling for years until he admitted it, read HERE. I know he's the right guy to interview on this topic, but do we really need to hold Rose's opinions to a high standard after his reputation as a manager was tarnished? Now, as far as the gambling stuff, that's another debate for another time. I actually think what's done is done and Pete Rose's playing ability is enough to get him into the Hall of Fame (Read ENOUGH'S ENOUGH. TIME FOR PETE ROSE TO GO TO COOPERSTOWN. ), but I also think that Derek Jeter, while a long shot, has a very good chance of breaking Pete Rose's record. I'm in the minority, and that's fine. 

Sure, it can be a pipe dream for me... but so was Ichiro Suzuki coming to the New York Yankees (Read HERE)... and that happened. Trust me, weird things happen in the Bronx... and if I'm Rose... I'm putting money on Derek Jeter.

Great piece by Mr. Posnanski!

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