Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, has long been banned from the game for gambling on baseball as both a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds. In 1989, Rose agreed to a permanent ineligibility ban which would keep him out of all areas of ballparks not available to fans, and most notably, would keep him out of the Hall of Fame.
While he still remains banned today (it is up for debate whether that ban should be revoked or not), he will get a chance to work “in baseball” again, courtesy of Fox. The news network is hiring Rose as a special guest studio analyst (in Fox studios — he will still remain out of stadium broadcast booths) to do pregame and postgame shows.
Rose spoke about his new role with Fox:
“I enjoy talking baseball, and that’s what this is all about. Enjoying the game of baseball, sitting in the green room watching two or three games, getting on TV and talking about it. It’s right up my alley, I think.”
Rose also noted that he’s a big fan of ‘Inside the NBA’ and loves the dialogue between Charles Barkley, Shaq, and Kenny Smith.
All in all, this is a good, um, gamble by Fox — it’s a big name who certainly knows the game of baseball and can hopefully bring some interesting perspective and personality to the table. If he doesn’t work out as an analyst, there’s no real harm done.
h/t USA Today