17-time All-Star and Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, and author of the new book “Play Hungry: The Making of a Baseball Player”, joined Brian Kilmeade to discuss his legendary career, how important his father was to his success, the impact Cincinnati Reds teammates Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson had on his style of play and if he thinks he will ever make the Baseball Hall of Fame. When asked about former Cincinnati Reds teammate and hall of famer Johnny Beach saying he should not be enshrined in Cooperstown after being permanently banned from MLB in 1989 for making bets while he played and managed the Reds, Rose responded by saying, “It don’t bother me but you know Johnny Bench is one guy who should thank God I was born… Because he never would have made the Hall of Fame if I wasn’t born.”
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Pete Rose on Johnny Bench saying he should not go into the Baseball Hall of Fame
(Kilmeade) It must bother you?
(ROSE) It don’t bother me but you know Johnny Bench is one guy who should thank God I was born.
(Kilmeade) Why?
(ROSE) Because he never would have made the Hall of Fame if I wasn’t born.
(Kilmeade) Why?
(ROSE) Because I’m the guy he knocked in in a thousand times. Okay. . You got you’ve got guys in front of you guys right behind you and you got to be responsible for everybody else involved .You should ask Joe Morgan the same question as Tony Press the same question, they are in the Hall of Fame. And I’ll guarantee you they won’t give you the same answer and it don’t bother me that Johnny feels that way because Johnny was here was a situation with me and Johnny and people thought we didn’t ever get along that weren’t true. But Johnny could never understand that I was born in Cincinnati and people love the way I played and he might have been the best player on the Big Red Machine. I don’t know, he’s the greatest catcher ever but he was never going to be a fan favorite as long as I was there. I was born there. It’s like me going to Bangor Oklahoma where he’s from and getting mad if they liked Johnny more than they like me. They’re probably going to like Johnny more because that’s where he was born. OK So that was a problem that Johnny and I had as far as players when we played for the Cincinnati Reds.
(Kilmeade) So Tony Perez Yeah Dan Driessen. Griffey, Foster. Have you talked to any of them who back you go into the hall of fame?
(ROSE) Well they all backed me for going to the Hall of Fame but there’s only two of them that are Hall of Famers and that would be Morgan and Perez. I do shows with those guys all the time. And to be honest with you I get along with Johnny today.
(Kilmeade) So if you saw him now there would be no problem?
(ROSE) No, not at all. I’ll continue going around the world we live in and telling everybody he’s the greatest catcher of all times. I don’t get tired of saying that because it’s the truth. Now I can’t help it the way he feels but I would think if he’s a Cincinnati fan and he cares about the city of Cincinnati that he would probably want me to be in the Hall of Fame.
(Kilmeade) So here we are. Have you heard anything from Major League Baseball?
(ROSE) No, no. I don’t expect to. You know when I walked in here today to do this interview the furthest thing from my mind is the Hall of Fame. I made the Reds Hall of Fame. Wonder why Johnny didn’t comment on me making a Reds Hall of Fame or me getting a statue at the ballpark or retiring my number. Why didn’t you why didn’t he have an opinion on those three things?
