“I wanted to save Pete”

Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench spoke about the career and legacy of Pete Rose on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday.

Bench, who along with Rose was an integral part of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, said he narrowly missed Rose over the weekend. They both attended the Music City sports collecting and autograph show, but Bench went on Saturday while Rose and other former Reds legends went on Sunday.

Rose was in a wheelchair as he posed for a photo at the show with his former teammates Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Pérez and Ken Griffey Sr. After hearing that Rose appeared to be in poor health, Bench said he wanted to contact his fellow Reds Hall of Famer.

According to authorities there, Rose, 83, was found dead at his home in Clark County, Nevada, on Monday.

Rose, the MLB’s all-time leader in hits with 4,256, was banned from baseball in 1989 for playing as manager of his hometown Reds. Bench said he and his Reds teammates did everything possible to help Rose.

“Considering he reached base almost 6,000 times. 6,000 times. I mean, there’s no one like him led to Rose’s gambling problems.

“Let’s be honest. We’re talking about alcoholism. … I see kids doing drugs all the time. It’s hard for them to get away,” Bench said. “Gambling is an addiction. Let’s be honest. We know it’s an addiction and that it was for him. But he needed it. He wanted it. He wanted to compete.”

Bench, who wore a “Pete and Johnny Show” T-shirt as he spoke with Patrick, praised Rose’s baseball career Tuesday and said he doesn’t think anyone loves the sport more. But the Cincinnati native’s off-field issues have become a dark shadow over his legacy.

“I am absolutely devastated. I actually cried because I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want that to happen to Pete,” Bench said. “I wanted to save Pete. Yes, we had our differences of opinion. We disagree about certain things. There wasn’t a single time that we didn’t shake hands or hug each other whenever we saw each other. I just didn’t want it. “I didn’t want it to be a part of baseball. But more importantly, Pete gave it his all. This illness, this addiction was too much for him to overcome.

Bench hasn’t shied away from criticizing Rose over the years, knowing that Rose broke one of baseball’s most important rules. Still, he reached out to former MLB commissioner Bud Selig several times for support.

“I was buried in Cincinnati because I didn’t support Pete,” Bench said.

“Tony Pérez to Joe Morgan, there wasn’t one of us who didn’t say to Pete, ‘Come on, let’s do this,'” Bench said. “It’s sad (we have to relive his legacy with the gambling part) and not the legacy with four two hundred million hits… and the desire to make everyone better. Wherever he went, he made everyone better.”

(This story is being updated.)

“I wanted to save Pete”

ByJasper

By Jasper

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