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Rose a thorny subject

Pete Rose is in the news again – and it’s not particularly good.

Now, Major League Baseball’s hit king reportedly also bet on games as a player as well as a manager.

“I’m just so tired of all that babble,” said Cincinnati Reds Legends camp director Mike Wagner at the 22nd annual Reds Legends Youth Baseball Clinic at V.F.W. Field in Marietta Tuesday.

A lot of fans are.

“Pete’s made a lot of enemies over the years,” Wagner continued, “and they’ve had loud voices. That’s what’s kept him out of the Hall of Fame.”

Don’t get Wagner wrong. The 1983 Warren graduate isn’t saying that Rose is a saint – but then, who in the Hall is? For that matter, who in the whole wide world is?

“No one” would be the correct answer.

“Pete’s made mistakes, and he shouldn’t have done what he did,” Wagner said. “But he’s human. We all make mistakes, and we see athletes in football, basketball and baseball make mistakes every day.”

If you’re wondering why Wagner addresses Rose by his first name, it’s because he knows the man personally. In fact, a few years back, Rose was the main attraction at the Legends camp in Marietta.

“I know him on a first-name basis,” Wagner said. “And I get to talk to him once in a while, email him, and stuff like that.”

Wagner actually knows most of the ex-Reds on a first-name basis – Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, and right on down the line. It’s his business to know them, and in the process he’s befriended many of them.

Thing is, though, when Rose did visit the Mid-Ohio Valley, it was special and a big deal – and it made an impression on many, many people.

“The most enjoyable (Reds Legends) camp was probably when Pete Rose came,” said Marietta Kroger retiree Jim Tenney. “Pete was a standup guy. He had everybody laughing. I remember that day.

“I was coaching and we were out here in the outfield and Mike (Wagner) said that when Pete Rose comes, we’re going to come in right here and drive down through there. So we made sure our group was right there when Pete got out. I was kind of like Christmas.”

Ah, Christmas in June at the V.F.W. Field.

Without question, if Wagner and Tenney had the power and could cast HOF votes, Rose would be in the Hall – like yesterday. And, make no mistake about it, there are a lot of fans who feel the same way.

There’re also many who don’t.

“People are welcome to their opinions but as a ballplayer, he deserves to be in there,” Wagner said.

Rose’s 4,256 hits speak for itself.

Said Tenney, “After seeing him at the camp here, you couldn’t find a better ambassador for baseball. America is a country of second chances. I think it’s time for Pete Rose to have a second chance. Then, if he does get a second chance and blows it on his own, he has no one to blame but himself.”

Wagner, a Christian, looks at it from a religious perspective.

“God forgives us, and Jesus forgives us when we make a mistake,” he said. “But men don’t ever want to forgive.”

Maybe someday, Rose will be forgiven. Who knows. Even if he isn’t and denied a place in the Hall, it’s not likely he’ll ever be forgotten in Major League Baseball annals.

“Even my 84-year-old mother knows that he’s the greatest hitter in baseball,” Tenney said.

Ron Johnston is a Marietta Times sports writer, and can be reached at (740)373-2121, or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com

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