First published 2014
Pete Rose holds baseball's all-time hit record, yet he cannot enter the Hall of Fame. Kennedy examines the contradiction at the heart of Rose's legacy. Rose played with reckless intensity that made him beloved by fans and teammates while antagonizing others. His gambling led to a lifetime ban from baseball twenty-five years ago, making him ineligible for Cooperstown. Kennedy traces Rose's journey from his brash early career through his playing days to his ongoing battle with baseball's establishment. The book explores how Rose's case has become more complex in the steroid era, when players who used performance-enhancing drugs appear on Hall of Fame ballots while Rose remains excluded. Kennedy shows us Rose today, still unrepentant about his gambling, still drawing crowds as he signs autographs near Cooperstown, still polarizing fans and critics. The author asks whether our view of Pete Rose should change in this new era of baseball scandals.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, american, sports, baseball, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, sports
Setting: Cooperstown
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Sports Illustrated