Managing keeps Rose Jr. active in game he loves

BLUEFIELD — Growing up the son of a legend is not always easy, but Pete Rose Jr., continues to make his marks in baseball while relishing the past that helped shape him into the man he is today.

The oldest child of baseball’s all-time hits leader, Rose Jr., now 42, is in his second year as manager of the Bristol White Sox and it’s a position to which he is comfortable and enjoys.

“It’s different from what I’m accustomed to, but it’s about developing these guys and getting them to the next level,” Rose said, sitting in the visiting manager’s office at Bowen Field. “Our record hasn’t been very good this year, or last year, but we’ve developed guys. It’s been good. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

As a youngster Rose’s playmates included Ken Griffey Jr., and Eduardo Perez, and their playground was Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. Rose reminisced of those days when his only goal was to be with his father.

“It was great. It’s something that you cherish for the rest of your life,” Rose said. “I remember growing up I just wanted to be at my dad’s side and that happened to be at the ballpark. Luckily I got to be around the Big Red Machine and grew up with Kenny Jr., and Eduardo and had a bunch of clubhouse dads, Tony (Perez), Joe (Morgan), Ken (Griffey) Sr., and Sparky (Anderson).

“It was a great way to grow up and a great way to learn the game of baseball, first hand, kind of being on the job when you’re old enough to catch and throw. You’d go to the ballpark and get into the lifestyle.

“It was great, I wouldn’t change it for the world and that’s why I played so long. I have a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girls and when they’re in town they come out to the ballpark and it’s a great atmosphere to grow up in.

“You talk about a lot of fun? I got to watch a lot of great baseball and I was taught the right way to play just from watching, watching them play, and what a team to watch.”

Rose spoke of the most important thing he learned from his dad and the Hall of Fame players in the Reds clubhouse.

“I learned from all those guys how to be a good teammate,” Rose stated. “They always got along like a family. I used to watch them play and imitate their stances and all that stuff, but my dad always taught me to be on time and play the game the right way, and that’s play the game hard. That’s what I learned most.”

Rose played nearly 20 years of professional baseball, making it to the majors in 1997 with the Reds.

When asked about what stood out as the fondest memory of his father’s 24-year major league career Rose was straight to the point.

“It has to be 4,192. There’s no two ways around it. It’s really indescribable. You had to have been there to experience it. As a Rose it was even that much greater and that much more special,” Rose lamented. “It’s something my son will tell his son, and his son will tell his son and so forth.

“It was just something that you can never duplicate and you just had to be there to feel what it was like.”

Pete Rose got hit 4,192 on Sept. 11, 1985, becoming the all-time baseball hits leader, surpassing Ty Cobb. Rose finished his career with 4,256 hits.

Asked if his dad gives him any managerial advice, the younger Rose said, “He doesn’t really understand the whole developmental thing and rightfully so. He never had to go through it. He played two years in the minor leagues and that was it, but we talk about different things, like ‘Are the guys playing hard? Are they on time?’ Stuff that he used to do.

“We mainly talk about my two kids and just talk father-son stuff. People don’t realize it, my dad is just like yours, the only difference is he has more hits than your dad has, but my dad has got more hits than anybody else’s dad too,” Rose said with a laugh.

“We put on our pants one leg at a time and we’ve got two arms and two legs, but I understand the whole magnitude of it. It’s really just a normal father-son relationship and it’s great. I cherish every minute of it.”

Rose Sr., now lives in Las Vegas, while his mother Carolyn still resides in Cincinnati. Rose Jr., still lives in the Cincinnati area, about 10 minutes from where he grew up on the west side of the city. His sister, Fawn lives in Seattle. The family remains close, but Rose had one wish.

“I wish my dad would come out a little bit more but it’s tough with his schedule,” he said. “Then it kind of turns into a circus whenever he comes out because all the people want to see him and everything else,” Rose said.

Looking back on his childhood, Rose said he was a normal kid.

“I grew up normal, the only difference is I got to go to the ballpark every night and my dad was a baseball player,” Rose said. “All my friends back at home knew me as Petey or Pete. I wasn’t Pete Rose’s son, I was just one of the kids on the team. I was grounded like that and that probably came from my mom, mostly because my dad was always off playing.”

Sparky Anderson was manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 1970-77. During that time the Reds won four National League pennants and two World Series championships. In 1973 the elder Rose was National League MVP. Rose spoke about the former skipper of the Big Red Machine.

“You can’t say enough about him,” Rose commented. “He took me, and Eduardo (Perez), and Kenny (Griffey Jr.), he’d sit us down and talk to us like we were his kids. He would always go out of this way to come up and talk to you. I loved him. I loved him just like my dad. What a great baseball mind, but an even better person.

“He knew how to make guys tick and he was great with me and the other kids. Just to be around him was unbelievable and it’s a shame he passed away.

“My dad actually went out and spent some time with him before he passed, so I thought it was really special, because he loved my dad and my dad loved him. He was a great man, you can’t say enough about him.”

While the Pittsburgh Pirates of the late ‘70s were known as “The Family,” the Reds over the years have remained a tight family as they were when they played.

“My dad talks to Tony (Perez) all the time, he talks to Joe. He was just in Cincinnati doing something for Joe’s car dealership,” Rose pointed out. “He goes to Cincinnati a lot. He’ll go in and take my son to the Reds games and stuff like that. He stays in contact with as many of the guys as he can.”

—Contact Bob Redd

at bredd@bdtonline.com

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