Pete Rose On Hitting

Explanatory photographs and instructional text describe the batting techniques and attitude that can make you a winner at the plate.

On September 11, 1985, with a sell-out crowd of 52,000 fans on hand at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium and millions of others watching on television, Pete Rose collected hit number 4,192 of his career and passed Ty Cobb as the all-time career hits leader. As he reached first base, thousands of cameras flashed, his teammates mobbed him, fireworks exploded and the crowd overwhelmed him with a seven-minute standing ovation. Rose was on top of the world. Less than four years later, he would be banned for life from baseball for allegedly betting on major league games, roundly criticized in the press by both fans and fellow players, and then convicted for tax evasion. In 2003, fourteen years after he was made ineligible for the Hall of Fame, Commissioner Bud Selig took up Rose's application for reinstatement, igniting once again an intense debate about his legacy and baseball's long-standing zero-tolerance policy on gambling. This book gathers the available facts of Rose's life and career, as well as the scandals he was embroiled in, leaving the reader a more informed participant in the ongoing discussion.

Examines different baseball skills such as hitting, running, playing the various field positions and pitching.

A New York Times Bestseller The inside story of how Pete Rose became one of the greatest and most controversial players in the history of baseball Pete Rose was a legend on the field. As baseball’s Hit King, he shattered records that were thought to be unbreakable. And during the 1970s, he was the leader of the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds team that dominated the game. But he’s also the greatest player who may never enter the Hall of Fame because of his lifetime ban from the sport. Perhaps no other ballplayer’s story is so representative of the triumphs and tragedies of our national pastime. In Play Hungry, Rose tells us the story of how, through hard work and sheer will, he became one of the unlikeliest stars of the game. Guided by the dad he idolized, a local sports hero, Pete learned to play hard and always focus on winning. But even with his dad’s guidance, Pete was cut from his team as a teenager—he wasn’t a natural. Rose was determined, though, and never would be satisfied with anything less than success. His relentless hustle and headfirst style would help him overcome his limitations, leading him to one of the most exciting and brash careers in the history of the sport. Play Hungry is Pete Rose’s love letter to the game, and an unvarnished story of life on the diamond. One of the icons of a golden age in baseball, he describes just what it was like to hit (or try to hit) a Bob Gibson fastball or a Gaylord Perry spitball, what happened in that infamous collision at home plate during the 1970 All-Star Game, and what it felt like to topple Ty Cobb’s hit record. And he speaks to how he let down his fans, his teammates, and the memory of his dad when he gambled on baseball, breaking the rules of a sport that he loved more than anything else. Told with candor and wry humor—including tales he’s never told before—Rose’s memoir is his final word on the glories and controversies of his life, and, ultimately, a master class in how to succeed when the odds are stacked against you.

On September 11, 1985, with a sell-out crowd of 52,000 fans on hand at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium and millions of others watching on television, Pete Rose collected hit number 4,192 of his career and passed Ty Cobb as the all-time career hits leader. As he reached first base, thousands of cameras flashed, his teammates mobbed him, fireworks exploded and the crowd overwhelmed him with a seven-minute standing ovation. Rose was on top of the world. Less than four years later, he would be banned for life from baseball for allegedly betting on major league games, roundly criticized in the press by both fans and fellow players, and then convicted for tax evasion. In 2003, fourteen years after he was made ineligible for the Hall of Fame, Commissioner Bud Selig took up Rose's application for reinstatement, igniting once again an intense debate about his legacy and baseball's long-standing zero-tolerance policy on gambling. This book gathers the available facts of Rose's life and career, as well as the scandals he was embroiled in, leaving the reader a more informed participant in the ongoing discussion.

Years after being banned from Major League Baseball "for life" because of alleged sports gambling, Pete Rose continues to be a colorful and controversial newsmaker. His frequent appeals to Commissioner Bud Selig for reinstatement have had the overwhelming support of fans, reflecting the enthusiasm Rose brought to the game and the passion he has generated over the years. Rose played twenty-four seasons before retiring in 1986 with numerous records: most career hits (4,256), most games played (3,562), most at-bats (14,053), most seasons with 200 or more hits (10), and most winning games played in (1,972). During a career with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos, Rose was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1963 and its Most Valuable Player in 1973. In addition to winning three batting titles and two Gold Glove Awards, he also was the World Series MVP with Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" team that won the 1975 world championship. In Pete Rose: Baseball's Charlie Hustle, dozens of the people who know him best -- teammates, opposing players, friends, fans, hometown acquaintances, and baseball experts -- share their memories of the man and the player. Among the many aspects of his life explored are his competitive zeal even as a Little Leaguer, his athletic success in high school, his on-field scrapes and collisions, his leadership role on the Big Red Machine, his leaving the Reds to join the Phillies, his record-setting 44-game hitting streak, his pursuit of Ty Cobb's all-time hits record, his turbulent days as manager of the Reds, his banishment from baseball, and his various enterprises after baseball. Book jacket.

Best-selling author Kostya Kennedy delivers evocative answers in his fascinating reexamination of Pete Rose’s life; from his cocky and charismatic early years through his storied playing career to his bitter war against baseball’s hierarchy to the man we find today—still incorrigible, still adored by many. Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steroid world? Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today? Should we?

Twenty-five years ago, Roberto Clemente made baseball history when he became the first Latin American to enter the Hall of Fame. Roberto Clemente: The Great One explores one of the game's most dynamic players and perhaps its most selfless humanitarian. From modest beginnings in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to a legendary career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to his tragically premature death in a plane crash, The Great One details the story of one of baseball's most compelling characters. Interviews with teammates Willie Stargell and Al Oliver, former major league commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and dose friends of Clemente lend insight into his character and contributions. The Great One fully examines Clemente's legacy, at a time of unprecedented success for Latin American players.