Baseball's infamous outcast sits behind a table in front of a memorabilia store in an upscale mall. Pete Rose's full-time job these days is hustling his signature, and he is paid more than a million dollars to do it. Two young women wearing Cincinnati Reds jerseys hoist "Pete Rose Here Today" signs. The banished "Hit King" sports a doughy face and paunch and the glum look of a boy kicked out of a ballpark because he was bad."Why doesn't baseball ever do what the public wants?" says Rose, 64, a tape-measure homer from reinstatement after he disgraced the game by breaching its most sacrosanct rule - betting on it.
Baseball's moral gatekeepers - in essence, three commissioners - have refused to unlock the front gate to their fraternity and welcome back one of the most popular, decorated and, yes, tainted players. On Tuesday, the 2006 Hall of Fame class is announced and, once again, Peter Edward Rose is left standing in the corner.
Baseball writers no longer can consider the aging Rose for the Hall because his 15-year eligibility period expired in 2005, although in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY he muses, "I don't know how my eligibility lapsed when I've never been eligible."
The player revered as "Charlie Hustle" for his peerless drive and determination only can be considered for admission by the Veterans Committee beginning in 2009, but baseball first must pardon him. So Rose markets the only thing left to peddle: his name - golden to some, tarnished for others. He views himself as baseball's finest ambassador. Although he is well compensated for the memorabilia gig, his permanent ban prevents the stained superstar from the vocation he most desires. At this juncture, bronzed-plaque recognition is secondary to Rose's goal: managing.
Class of 2006
Getty Images
Relief pitcher Bruce Sutter, shown in 1982, is the only player to be elected by the writers to baseball's Hall of Fame this year. Story
"Don't take this wrong or get on my case, because it's the truth," he says. "Every player would love to go to the Hall of Fame. ... My ambition - because of who I am and what I can contribute - is to get back in the game. Not as a coach or an announcer but (as a manager).
"I'm a teacher. I'm a leader; I'm not a follower. I watch two or three games every day during the baseball season. It drives me crazy when I turn on the TV and see some of these cities, see the empty seats. Every seat at a ballpark is for (a body) every night. That's why they make 'em."
If a Japanese team is paying Bobby Valentine $4 million a season, what is Rose worth in America?
"I don't know," he says, "but you'd have to think that I'm young enough to get a four- or five-year contract. Obviously, I could make more in some cities. ... I don't want to be arrogant, but if you own a baseball team and you don't want to win or put people in the seats, don't call me."
Letting People Down
Peter Ueberroth, Bart Giamatti and Fay Vincent have come and gone as commissioners since baseball began investigating Rose's gambling 16 years ago. Rose's deal with Giamatti placed him on baseball's ineligible list - that is, a permanent ban. The agreement was signed after an exhaustive report by special investigator John Dowd. He concluded that while Rose managed Cincinnati in 1987 he bet a minimum of $10,000 a day on at least 52 Reds games.
