Pete Rose Jr. hopes stint in Nashville pays off

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, July 1, 1998 | 11:06 a.m.

On Sept. 1, 1997, a lifetime of hopes and dreams finally came to fruition for Pete Rose Jr., son of baseball's all-time hit king.

After a career spent toiling in the minor-league systems of four different organizations, Rose Jr. stepped onto the field in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

He seized the day, slapping his first major-league hit past first base, sending 36,000 fans, and his famous father, to their collective feet.

But now, less than one year after his greatest sports triumph, the 28-year-old finds himself back in the minor leagues, trying once again to prove he deserves a call-up.

And to his dismay, he knows that if that call-up comes, it won't come from the Reds, whom he believes forced him to look for work elsewhere.

Despite contributing what he felt were productive numbers at triple-A Indianapolis this year (.277, three homers, 13 RBIs in 130 at-bats), Rose found himself at the double-A level for the second straight season.

And Rose, who saw the writing on the wall when he wasn't invited to the club's major league camp during spring training, decided he wasn't going to accept the demotion.

"I don't have anything else to prove in double-A," said Rose, who batted .308 with 25 homers and 98 RBIs for double-A Chattanooga last year. "I'd been taking it too long. I wasn't going to swallow my pride again. I did them a favor last year. One time is enough."

So Rose refused the assignment, forcing the organization that has become almost synonymous with his family name to release him outright.

On Tuesday, Rose and his new club -- the Nashville Sounds, the triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates -- rolled into Las Vegas for a four-game set. And expected to be in the stands for game two tonight is none other than the man who sits atop baseball's record books with 4,256 hits.

Of course, it's tough for the Roses to spend much time together at the ballpark, a result of the elder Rose's suspension from baseball, which prohibits him from entering the clubhouse or stepping onto the field.

"I think that's wrong," said the younger Rose. "He just wants to see his son. He should be allowed to go anywhere any father is allowed to go to spend some quality time with his son."

Like any fan, though, the hit king can come to the ballpark and sit amongst the paying crowd, which is exactly where he was when his son finally broke into the big leagues last season.

After tracing the number 4,256 in the dirt near third base for his entire professional career, Rose Jr. finally notched a hit himself in his second at-bat against Kansas City's Kevin Appier.

"It was special," said Rose Jr., who saw action in 11 games with the Reds. "It was a great thrill for me to play my first big league game and my first game with my whole family in attendance.

"And to go 1-for-3 with a walk was a big accomplishment because there was so much pressure," he continued. "It was like a World Series atmosphere."

Now that he's had a taste of the big leagues, Rose Jr. wants to recapture those feelings of success. And he, for one, is confident he can do it again.

"I know I'm a big-league player," Rose said. "I proved that last year. People don't understand I'm 28, not 38. A lot of players don't hit their prime until 31 or 32."

And just in case he needed any extra motivation, a quick glance at the Pirates' upcoming schedule may have given him just that.

"I've been here for five games, and I already know Pittsburgh plays their last three games in Cincinnati," he said. "That would be an ideal situation."