Jerry Kuhlman on Pete Rose, R.I.P.

RIP Mr. Charlie Hustle! 

We were in Vegas on our way to Bryce and Zion and I saw that Pete Rose was signing autographs at some casino in town.  He was my Dad's and my favorite because of the way he played the game.  I wanted to get a pic with him and send it to my Dad for Father's Day.  So I convinced my family to go the next day.  I spent the night before preparing what I wanted to talk to him about, specific plays etc. 

We got there just before they closed, and you could tell he was getting tired of signing.  I was the last person they let sit with him.  He didn't look up at first. 

- I brought up the way he ran out Walks.  ("One in a million times they drop the ball and I'm on second, maybe third.")  He started getting fired up. 

- I brought up the play where he caught the foul ball in the World Series after it popped out of Boone's glove.  I said he would've backed up that play even if it was a spring training game ("because, that's how you play the game") 

- Astros Series... play at the plate.  Took the catcher out like you could then. (" only time I went through a "stop sign" from the 3rd base coach) 

- then he started telling me stories.  It was the best!  They said they had to close the store, but then I said, see my son over there?  His name is Kyle.  I wanted to name him Pete Rose Kuhlman, but my wife wouldn't let me.  He stared down Kim, then laughed. 

I know he wasn't perfect off the field... who is?  If you have an opinion on that, don't post it on my page.

No one PLAYED the game harder.

~ Jerry Kuhlman, Facebook post, September 30, 2024

Kevin Duffy on Pete Rose, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the steroids era

Q: I have been watching a Pete Rose documentary on Max and I have to say there is something wrong with that guy.  He definitely is a gambling addict.  What are your thoughts on him being in the Hall of Fame?  I feel like he should for what he accomplished and how he played the game.  That is a far cry from guys who did steroids and cheated every day and are on the ballot! 

A: Rose definitely deserves to get in on merit, first ballot HOFer.  I might let him in after 20 years.  That's enough punishment for what he did.  We're all human so I'd err on the side of forgiveness.  As for steroids, practically everyone was doing it and the league looked the other way (they benefitted big time from the explosion of HRs).  I'm not a fan of making a few visible guys like Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, Clemens the scapegoats.  

There is no doubt in my mind that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belong in the HOF.  Bonds will be inducted this summer.  Clemens has failed to make the cut 10 times.  I have little doubt that he would've been a first ballot HOFer had he not used steroids. 

Q: I would agree about forgiving Rose.  He is an old man now and has served his penance so let him in.  The steroid guys were the best in their era but would they have been without the juice? 

A: a) I think steroid use was pervasive and b) the crackdown was largely after the fact.  There was a big window where this was all new, the adverse long-term effects not known and the rules not crystal clear and enforced.  On top of that, incentives matter.  Initially the league looked the other way because they benefited and didn't want to believe it would harm the athletes.  Kind of reminds me of concussions and football.  This was a systemic problem which is why I'm opposed to singling out a few individuals and have them take the fall.  For any organization, the best they can do is to admit a mistake, clean it up and move on.  Take responsibility!  After all, we're all human and make mistakes.  I think most fans will relate, appreciate the honesty and forgive.

~ Kevin Duffy, email exchange, September 24, 2024

Warren Buffett: "The stock market is a no-called-strike game"

The stock market is a no-called-strike game.  You don't have to swing at everything -- you can wait for your pitch.  The problem when you're a money manager is that your fans keep yelling, "Swing, you bum!"

~ Warren Buffett, 1999 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, as quoted in The Tao of Warren Buffett by Mary Buffett and David Clark

MLB 2021 Home Run Derby

ABC News: Texas Rangers to fully reopen for home opener

The Texas Rangers are scheduled to make a bold move for their home opener Monday that has some medical experts and President Joe Biden concerned. 

Globe Life Field in Arlington will be the first Major League Baseball stadium to reopen at full capacity -- roughly 40,000 seats -- since the pandemic began. The move comes a month after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ended the state's mask mandate and asked businesses to reopen fully, citing declining COVID-19 cases and vaccination numbers.

~ ABC News, "Texas Rangers to reopen stadium at full capacity despite COVID-19 case numbers," April 4, 2021

Hank Aaron on his home run record

I don't want people to forget Babe Ruth.  I just want them to remember Henry Aaron. 

~ Hank Aaron

I'm hoping someday that some kid, black or white, will hit more home runs than myself.  Whoever it is, I'd be pulling for him.

~ Hank Aaron

Henry Louis Aaron
1934-2021

Tom DiLorenzo on turning Major League Baseball into "left-wing propaganda spectacles"

In addition to keeping fans away, turning games into left-wing propaganda spectacles, officially endorsing the radical communist “We’re Trained Marxists” Only Black Lives Matter, allowing players to kneel to protest the existence of “racist America” at the beginning of each game, and imposing hundreds of asinine CDC rules on the game itself, Fuhrer Fauci will throw out the first ball at the Washington Nationals game on Thursday.

~ Tom DiLorenzo, "Another Reason to Just Forget About Major League Baseball for Good," LRC Blog, July 21, 2020