Pete Rose On WFAN: I'm The 'Biggest Winner In The History Of Sports'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Pete Rose, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, joined WFAN host Mike Francesa on Tuesday afternoon.
Major League Baseball's hit king, of course, has been banned from MLB since 1989 for gambling on baseball.
Rose, who is ineligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame, has stated on many occasions his desire to be reinstated and potentially manage again.
He admitted on Tuesday that reinstatement is far from imminent. In fact, there's no dialogue about the ban being overturned.
"I don't know (soon-to-be MLB Commissioner Rob) Manfred," Rose told Francesa. "...(There's) no dialogue with Mr. Manfred. I hope to meet him some day, hope to talk to him some day. If that time comes, I'll be the happiest guy in the world. If it doesn't, no problem."
Rose's accomplishments speak for themselves. "Charlie Hustle" was a 17-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion, a World Series MVP and a National League MVP. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1963 and won a Silver Slugger Award and a Roberto Clemente Award.
The 73-year-old was also a three-time batting champ and two-time Gold Glove Award winner.
"The perfect world for Pete Rose would probably be, get in the Hall of Fame," Rose told Francesa. "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."
Rose admitted that as he's gotten older, the dream of getting into the Hall of Fame has become more important to him. He'd be "the happiest guy in the world" if he was finally enshrined in Cooperstown, but he maintains that he can live with the fact that it just might not happen.
So what does Rose want people to remember about him?
"If I could have something on my tombstone, it would say, 'Here lies the biggest winner in the history of sports,'" Rose said. "Because I played in 1,972 winning games as a player ... So that makes me the biggest winner because, Mike, the only reason you play a game is to win ... You play to win.
"...I played to win every game. That's your obligation you have to the fans, is to bust your a-- for two-and-a-half hours when you go out to the ballpark."