Apr 29, 2015 4 min read

The Wild Things announced Tuesday that baseball’s all-time hit king Pete Rose is coming to Consol Energy Park in June to sell his autograph.

My initial reaction when I heard the news was this:

Why?

The reason obviously is Rose is hitting the independent leagues this summer to make some money and drum up sympathy, er, support, from the general public for his banishment from baseball to be overturned. Rose’s representatives formally filed paperwork last month with new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred requesting reinstatement. The scuttlebutt is that Manfred is open to Rose being placed on the Hall of Fame ballot but remaining banned from coaching or working in a major league team’s front office.

For $40, Wild Things fans can purchase an autograph ticket for Rose to sign June 30 during a game against Lake Erie. For $100, you can purchase a VIP package that includes a 100-minute meet and greet with Rose.

And remember, apparently because he is banned from baseball, Rose will only sign Wild Things merchandise. No Cincinnati Reds or MLB gear will be autographed, so make sure you get to the CEP merchandise store early.

Hey, if you want to pay outrageous prices to see an aging legend up close, then go for it. I have no problem with that. Heck, I just paid more than $100 to see the Rolling Stones from 50 yards away, so I can’t criticize anybody for wanting to see a person who had more hits – the baseball kind, not the rock and roll variety – than any player in history.

What did cause me to wonder why Wild Things ownership decided to bring Rose to Washington has nothing to do with Charlie Hustle’s betting on baseball, his banishment from the game, his campaigning to be in the Hall of Fame or the high price of becoming one of at least a million people to own a Pete Rose autograph. Instead, it had everything to do with Rose being the guy Pittsburgh Pirates fans loved to hate during his playing days.

But he is coming to Washington.

What, was Francisco Cabrera busy that day?

Why not bring in Barry Bonds? Or Ken Stabler? Or Bobby Clarke? Or Aroldis Chapman? Or Ray Lewis? Or Alexander Ovechkin? Those, Rose included, are the athletes Pittsburgh sports fans have despised.

This is the equivalent of having Franco Harris sign autographs in Cleveland. Or Sidney Crosby signing in Philadelphia. Or Goliath signing autographs in David’s back yard for $40 a pop. There’s just something wrong about crossing enemy lines, even after all these years.

Maybe I’m off base about the local dislike for Rose. Maybe I can’t get past that I grew up in Pirates territory during the Lumber Company and Big Red Machine days but my best friend was – and still is – a diehard Reds fans. So all of Rose’s success was a thorn in my side. Perhaps it’s because I am a child of the 1970s that this seems so odd. People younger than I probably find nothing odd about Rose coming to Washington.

I can’t say anything bad about the way Rose played the game. He played the right way. He played hard, he played to win, he didn’t miss games with minor injuries and the guy could roll out of bed during a winter blizzard and go 2-for-5. What he did on the field, I can totally respect.

I just think there are better options – many of them current or former Pirates and Steelers – than Rose to bring to Washington to sign autographs.

If you can’t make it Consol Energy Park June 30, don’t feel badly. You can always wait for Bill Belichick Night at the ballpark next year.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com.