Pete Rose Inducted Into Phillies Wall Of Fame


Pete Rose may never find himself into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, but he has found a home as the newest member of the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame. The team announced early Monday morning that Rose will be enshrined into the Wall of Fame during a ceremony that will take place on Saturday, August 12, prior to a game versus the New York Mets.

The all-time hits leader spent four seasons with the Phillies that spanned from 1979-1983 and became the team’s highest-paid player in team history when he signed a four-year deal totaling over $800,000 per season. Rose is mostly recognized by Phillies fans as the player who helped them get over the hump and win their first World Series title in 1980. Although he transitioned into a bench player during his final year with the team, he still helped get them back to the World Series in 1983 with clutch hitting performances.

After hearing about the induction of Pete Rose, Philly‘s Matt Breen quoted Rose’s former teammate and current Phillies Bench Coach Larry Bowa during an interview.

“Before he got here, we had a good team. But he was like the missing ingredient.When he came over here, he told everyone that when teams came to play us that we were an intimidating team. A lot of people on our team didn’t believe that, so he just kept saying it and saying it and we started believing in it.”

The induction should not come as a major surprise for Pete after already being enshrined into the Cincinnati Reds’ Wall of Fame on June 24, 2016. Although he was denied reinstatement into the league in 2015, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred allowed him to take part in team ceremonies as long it was approved by the league. After years of being shamed by the league for his gambling scandal, Rose was finally recognized for his achievements during his 20-plus years in professional baseball.

Ceremony for Pete Rose [Image by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]

Once the ceremony in Cincinnati had ended, MLB reporter Mark Sheldon quoted Pete Rose on finally being recognized by the Reds’ organization.

“Regardless of what anybody thinks, my name is kind of synonymous with the Reds, Rose said. “It’s kind of synonymous with baseball.”

Once the induction was made by the Reds, it opened a door to other teams around the league to see Rose in a new light. There had been no attempts by the Phillies to recognize Rose prior to the Reds ceremony prompting the question of why now. This lead to the belief that the Phillies must not have wanted to receive any backlash from major media outlets as the first team to allow Pete Rose back into their organization, but once another team allowed it then it must be okay.

This leaves the door open for more dominos to fall in the favor of Rose’s baseball future. The 75-year-old does not have much time left to gave much of his life to the sport of baseball and in return was given a lifetime ban from the sport after an incident that many people in today’s society would be considered to be minor. Despite all of the negativity that surrounds one of the league’s greatest players, Rose is just happy to be recognized by another historic franchise that he helped become champions.

Meghan Montemurro of USA Today quoted Pete Rose’s statement yesterday on being inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

“I am very honored to be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. My baseball years in Philadelphia were amazing, not just because we won it all in 1980 and came close in 1983, but also because the fans welcomed me from day one. The team’s great ownership and talented roster attracted me to Philadelphia as a free agent. I knew we could experience great success.”

Pete Rose’s Number on the Red’s Dugout [Image by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]

Only time will tell until the next domino will fall leading to Rose’s enshrinement in the MLB Hall of Fame.

[Featured Image by Dylan Buell/Getty Images]

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