Pete Rose Back In Baseball As Studio Analyst
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Pete Rose is getting back in baseball while he awaits a ruling on his reinstatement request — as a television analyst.
The career hits leader, who agreed to a lifetime ban from the sport 26 years ago, has been hired by Fox as a guest studio analyst.
"We informed baseball of Pete's audition. Baseball was informed every step of the way," Fox spokesman Dan Bell said Saturday.
Bell said Rose will not be in stadium broadcast booths. Since the ban began, Rose has not been allowed in areas of ballparks not open to fans, except with special approval from the commissioner's office. Approval has been granted for ceremonies, such as the All-Century team announcement at Atlanta's Turner Field during the 1999 World Series and a Reds' ceremony in 2013 honoring their 1975 and '76 championship teams.
"As a courtesy, Fox informed us that they were interviewing Pete Rose for an on-air studio position," MLB said in a statement. "The decision to hire on-air talent for its telecasts rests solely with Fox."
Rose, who turned 74 last week, agreed to the lifetime ban in August 1989 after a Major League Baseball investigation concluded he bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win while managing the team.
Rose will appear on pregame and postgame shows on Fox and Fox Sports 1 and other programming. Bell said Rose's start date and the frequency of his appearances has not been determined. Fox will broadcast the All-Star Game in Cincinnati on July 14 — coincidentally his uniform number.
For 15 years he denied he bet on baseball. In his 2004 autobiography, "Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars," Rose reversed his stand and acknowledged he bet on the Reds while managing the team.
Rose applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met in November 2002 with Commissioner Bud Selig, who never ruled on the application. Rose submitted another application for reinstatement after Selig was succeeded by Rob Manfred in January.
"I don't even worry about that. I've never thought about that," Rose said, according to FOXSports.com. "I'm just trying to give back to baseball. Hopefully people will watch and I'll make some good points that will help them understand the game more.
"I'm not concentrating or worrying about reinstatement. I'm worried about working, having fun. This will be fun for me. It won't be like work. That's the way I look at it."
Manfred has said he wants to listen to Rose make his case before issuing a decision.
"I have absolutely no predisposition on this issue," Manfred told WFAN radio on March 31. "I think he has a right to file a request for reinstatement, and I think under the Major League (Baseball) Constitution I have an obligation to consider that request and make a decision."
In 24 seasons in the majors, Rose had 4,256 hits and won three World Series titles. He was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NL Most Valuable Player. A 17-time All-Star, Rose made the team at five different positions.
"The perfect world for Pete Rose would probably be, get in the Hall of Fame," Rose told WFAN's Mike Francesa in January. "Because every player in his or her sport, the ultimate goal should be the Hall of Fame. But if I never make the Hall of Fame, I'm not gonna get on The Mike Francesa Show and whine about it, because I'm the one who screwed up.
"I'm the one that made the mistake. But if I'm ever given that second chance, I will appreciate that and I won't need a third chance."
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