The Reds pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB

CINCINNATI AP Pete Rose was celebrated by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night a day after baseball s career hits leader was posthumously removed from Major League Baseball s permanent ineligibility list There were chants of Pete Pete at Great American Ball Park There was a pregame moment of silence and a choir from Rose s Cincinnati high school performed the national anthem And No was everywhere from the replica jerseys in the stands to the highlights shown on the videoboard It was the type of all-out effort that Rose himself would have appreciated This city was my dad Rose s daughter Fawn reported Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin and Eric Davis who played for Rose when he managed the Reds shared stories about their former manager during a pregame panel joined by former Rose teammate George Foster Members of Rose s family delivered the match ball before Cincinnati s - loss to the Chicago White Sox He played baseball with as much passion and competitive enjoyment as you ever could explained Reds manager Terry Francona who played with Rose with Montreal and played for him with Cincinnati You longed to be on his gang Rose who died in September at age played for the Reds in of his seasons winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown association His career was tarnished by a gambling disgrace that led to a permanent ban on Aug An assessment commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose a -time All-Star who finished with hits repeatedly bet on the Reds as a athlete and manager of the unit from - a violation of a long-standing MLB rule Commissioner Rob Manfred declared Tuesday he was changing the league s initiative on permanent ineligibility saying bans would expire at death Manfred met with Fawn Rose and Jeffrey Lenkov a lawyer who represented Pete Rose on Dec Manfred was gracious kind Fawn Rose commented Really gave me a forum to talk about my dad not the baseball performer but the father the grandfather and really what he means to the fans of Cincinnati Pete Rose Jr who appeared in games with Cincinnati in stated he was angry when he first heard about Manfred s decision because he couldn t call his father But he called the change a step in the right direction Hate to say this but it s not going to bring him back he revealed If they would have disclosed you re not going to be taken off the list but you re coming back hey bring him back But nothing but positives in the current era While Rose s gambling ban made him a baseball pariah that was never the incident in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league group He was almost uniformly beloved in his hometown for his relentless playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine the dominant Reds teams in the mid- s My dad used to tell me all the stories of how hard he played every time declared Reds reliever Brent Suter a Cincinnati native You know never took a play off inevitably was running hard feet sliding headfirst you know getting dirty every battle This was a guy who just embodied toughness grit There were long lines at several gates as the crowd of filed into the ballpark A steady stream of fans stopped in front of Rose s statue for pictures before going inside the stadium There was a black tarp with the No over the pitcher s mound as the players took batting practice I remember his hustle The headfirst slides He was a person with not a lot of talent but he worked so hard noted Bob Wunder of Dayton Wunder expressed his frustration with the timing of Manfred s decision It s awful They should have done it when he was alive he explained If I was the Rose family I would say Thanks but no thanks I m upset that it had to wait until he passed away The change in Rose s status makes him eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame long a sore spot for Rose s largest part ardent supporters but his Cooperstown induction is far from a given Rose s circumstance would be considered by the Hall s Classic Baseball Era committee which next meets to consider players in December A -person panel selects eight ballot candidates with the approval of the Hall s board and the group is considered by members at the winter meetings with a or higher vote needed I know I oversimplify things But what Pete did as a performer if he s not in there is no Hall of Fame Francona disclosed But I get it There are chosen things that I m glad I don t have to make those decisions Jerry Casebolt of Florence Kentucky stopped to get his photo taken in front of the Rose statue before the competition He revealed he was at the All-Star Tournament when Rose bowled over Ray Fosse in a memorable play at the plate and he also attended the match when Rose broke Ty Cobb s hits record The removal of Rose from the ineligible list was meaningful for him It was great to hear the news he disclosed Just opening up the gates to the Hall of Fame but it s still questionable Hope he gets in Shame he didn t get to see it AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source