Rose thanked, but not by name, his coaches at the levels of Knothole, American Legion, Western Hills High School and the minor and major leagues. "Davey lives in Venezuela," said Rose, "so we don't know how much longer he's going to be around." He suggested that the Reds brass best not dally in honoring Concepcion. Once again, Rose played off the crowd's reaction. Huge roars went up from the crowd at the mention of each name. "And let's get one for (shortstop) Davey Concepcion." "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there's a statue out here someday of (Big Red Machine manager) Sparky Anderson," Rose said. Left unsaid by the Hit King is that nobody in history this side of Ty Cobb ever played the game harder than Peter Edward Rose. "Everybody on this stage was an All-Star," Rose said. Rose was at his magnanimous best, calling Johnny Bench the best catcher ever, Morgan the best second baseman ever and Tony Perez "the best Cuban player" ever.
RELATED: After being ill, Joe Morgan makes Pete Rose's statue reveal The Big Red Machine was one of the great teams in baseball history, and almost inarguably featured the greatest starting eight ever, only one of whom (Dominican center fielder Cesar Geronimo) was unable able to make it to the festivities Saturday. Memories ran deep for "one-foot-on-the-carpet" Little Joe, a reference the speedster used to get onto the artificial surface that awaited outside the dirt-cutout at first base at Riverfront Stadium.Īnybody who thinks the Reds spend too much time celebrating their history don't have a sense of it.
The sight of Morgan, walking with metal canes as he made his way up the aisle just outside the stadium under a blazing sun and past Rose's canvas-draped headfirst statue, moved fans to tears. He gave way to both posterity and his pal, Joe Morgan, the 1975-76 back-to-back National League Most Valuable Player who blazed the trail for two World Championships and all four monuments on statue row at Great American Ball Park. CINCINNATI - Emotions ran deep Saturday afternoon at Pete Rose's statue dedication, as the Hit King gave a weighty valedictory that would have played well in Cooperstown.
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