- I may have mentioned a while back that I think my dream job would be working at the LBJ Library. If this blog is a part of your life, then I don’t really need to explain why. Well, after meeting a girl who is a historian in academia, I’ve started to explore what it would take to land a job there or at a similar institution. In short, a person needs to be educated in archival stuff, and to my surprise, there are degrees and certifications for this, which can be pretty expensive. This is a developing story, I’ll keep you updated.
- Dikembe Mutombo died. Many know him as an awesome defensive finger-waving basketball player with a thick accent. Sadly, when I hear his name, my thoughts go to a particular question he would shout entering a nightclub or party, which has been verified.
- Pete Rose died.
- It frustrates me so much MLB didn’t allow him in the HOF. My dad is from Cincinnati, so I always had a soft spot for their sports teams. It’s time to dig out my baseball collection and see how many of his cards I have.
- Hey, every time I hear the name of the great actor Paul Giamatti, my immediate thought is about his father, the baseball commissioner who established the ban.
- They told him all he had to do was admit he bet on baseball. He did, yet MLB kept its stance. Even his signing (and selling) baseballs and apologizing for his actions did nothing to move the needle.
- MLB extended its condolences on Twitter, and the fans’ comments were as expected. Here’s one that stood out to me:
“Gonna be awesome when he finally gets elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on FanDuel Induction Weekend”
- People my age know nothing more about Pete Rose than that he was a great batter who later became his team’s manager. He was found guilty of betting on baseball games, which prevented him from being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Any interview with him always centered around betting on the game and whether that should disqualify him from the Hall of Fame.
None of us saw him play or watched a game he managed. We knew he was great because of the video highlight packages. Similarly, it’s the same with us Cowboys fans around my age. We all know Roger Staubach was great, but we never watched him take a snap in his playing days. You may think I’m nuts for bringing up Staubach. But what a lot of folks don’t know is that Staubach grew up in Cincinnati, as did Rose. Rose would often say the best athlete to ever come out of Cincinnati was Staubach and that he himself followed as the second.
What’s frustratingly sad to me is that so many people thought Rose was nothing but a dumb jock who could do nothing but hit a ball with a bat. That’s why I want to end with this clip, to give the man a little dignity. The man was intelligent; he had a clever baseball mind. But no one ever asked him about baseball; they only asked him about the scandal. Well, in this clip, it’s abundantly clear the man knows the game, and he knows it well. It’s the first time I ever saw him go into “a zone” that he was extremely comfortable in, thoroughly and thoughtfully answering all of ARod’s questions and sharing baseball wisdom, strategy, and history.
Pete Rose shares tons of baseball knowledge with A-Rod and Frank Thomas. It’s a 6 minute video, but I promise you, it’s the best thing you’ll see about Pete Rose today.#RIPPeteRose pic.twitter.com/dlpBbZ4e1C
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) September 30, 2024