Jul 18, 2015 5 min read

Before Pete Rose made his appearances at a recent Wild Things game and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, I had a chance to talk with the all-time hits leader.

I recalled, and did Pete, his first major-league hit.

“It was against the Pirates and Bob Friend, who was a good pitcher during his prime,” he said. “That was early in the season, back in 1963.”

Rose loved playing at Forbes Field.

“It was great. The fans loved their Bucs and their Iron City and Rolling Rock beer,” Rose said. “I remember the huge scoreboard in left field with the bigger than life Longines clock. And the batting cage sat in dead center field. I couldn’t believe that. I was told that Mickey Mantle hit a home over the cage and the center-field wall in the (1960) World Series.”

Was there anything else unique about Forbes Field?

“For one thing, the visitors had to go through the Pirates dugout to get to the clubhouse. I remember, under the stands, Roberto Clemente talking to a number of our players, like Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Davey Concepcion, about hitting.

“It was great talking to Roberto. I always had a feel on what kind of day he’d have at the plate. One day he would say, ‘Pete, I hurt all over’ and he’d go 3-for-4. The next day, he’d say, ‘Pete, I feel great’ and he would go 0-for-3.”

Rose said Clemente was among the top players that he saw.

“He’s in my top five,” Rose was quick to say.

You might be surprised by who he has ranked at the top of the list.

“I feel Mike Schmidt of the Phiilies was the best. I played with him and against him. He hit over 500 career home runs and he won a dozen or so Gold Gloves for his play at third base,” Rose said. “My top four after Mike … Clemente, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial.”

What did Rose think about Willie Stargell?

“The guy was strong, very strong. Just think about this: four times he hit a home run over the right-field roof at Forbes Field. He hit (two) home runs out of Dodger Stadium.

“You might not believe it, but I felt Clemente hit the ball harder than Willie. We (the Reds) knew any time we played the Pirates, you had to get out the No. 3 and 4 hitters in their lineup, Clemente and Stargell. They were tough, very tough.”

In the 1970s, the Reds and the Pirates had quite a rivalry that included several fights and benches-clearing incidents.

“It’s not like we didn’t like each other. We were just so competitive,” Rose said.

“Dock Ellis, now there was a character. He once told (the Reds) that he was going to hit everybody. Well, he hit Morgan, Griffey, Perez and Bench and then was thrown out of the game. Dock was from a different world.”

A few years later, one of the Reds’ pitchers, reliever Pedro Borbon, bit a Pirates player during a scuffle.

“That was Pedro. He bit a Pirate and the guy had to go the hospital and get a tetanus shot. We really didn’t like to confront the Pirates. We were small in comparison to some of their guys. They had Willie, and Dave Parker was a big guy, they had Al Oliver and that big first baseman, Bob Robertson, who was built like a tree. The third baseman, Richie Hebner, was tough. In the offseason, he was a gravedigger. I guess that’s how he he stayed in shape.”

What about facing Pirates pitchers?

“They were always competitive, but they had one guy who was 6-6 and could throw a fastball right by you, Bob Veale. He wore those big and thick glasses and every once in a while they would get foggy but he continued to pitch. He hit a few of us. (Pirates broadcaster) Bob Prince best described his fastball as a radio ball – you can’t see it but you can hear it.”

Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine dominated the 1970s. The Pirates could have been the best team with a little luck against the Reds in playoffs.

“No way,” Rose said.

“In 1970, we sent them home. In ’72 they had us, and Dave Guisti gave up a home run late in the game and we won on Bob Moose’s wild pitch. In ’75, we beat the Bucs again in the postseason.”

There are some in Cleveland who still dislike Rose because he ran over Indians catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run in the 1970 all-star game.

“To me, it was a game and you play to win. It’s the only thing – win at all cost.”

Other than becoming baseball’s all-time hits leader, Rose said he had several other memorable moments in his career, and he put the Reds’ win over the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 World Series at the top of the list.

“We beat the Red Sox in seven games,” he said. “Game 6 was the one when Fisk hit the home run to win for Boston. It was a great game though we lost. That series might have been the best ever.”

The Pirates confirmed in 1979, when Rose became a free agent and left the Reds, they were interested in signing him.

“The Pirates’ owner, Dan Galbreath, had horses. I flew to Columbus (Ohio) to meet with him and we went to his farm in Kentucky. He offered me some racehorses as part of the deal. I loved the one horse … Roberto. None of the horses were expected to be Kentucky Derby contenders, so I decided the Phillies were my best choice. I thought long and hard about joining the Pirates.”

Bill DiFabio writes a bi-weekly column for the Observer-Reporter about local sports history.