Reds fans celebrate Pete Rose after MLB’s decision: ‘He’s our Babe Ruth’

The Cincinnati Reds paid tribute to Pete Rose on Wednesday night – one day after Major League Baseball removed the all-time hits leader and others from the permanently ineligible list.

Reds fans packed the city en route to Great American Ballpark to watch the team celebrate one of the best players in the franchise’s history as he will get a chance to have a plaque in Cooperstown, New York, in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Chants of “Pete! Pete!” were heard throughout the park. The stadium held a pregame moment of silence and a choir from Rose’s high school in Cincinnati performed the national anthem. Fans wore Rose jerseys and highlights were shown on the video board throughout the game.

“It was awesome,” Pete Rose Jr. said of the ceremony, via MLB.com. “It’s home. These are all friends and family. I drove 15 minutes from home to get to the ballpark. I will drive 15 minutes back. I try to explain to people, they don’t really get the aspect of Dad being here. I try to tell them he’s our Babe Ruth. If you’re from here, he’s our Babe Ruth.”

He added that the family could not have asked “for a better night.”

Rose was placed on the ineligible list after the revelation that he gambled on the Reds to win – both as a player and a manager. After years of claiming innocence, Rose admitted to gambling in 2004. He also faced accusations of sexual misconduct in the years after he retired from the game.

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He lamented in his final interview that he would only get into the Hall of Fame after he died. It is a prophecy that took one step closer to reality on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, however, he was celebrated.

“My dad used to tell me all the stories of how hard he played every time,” Reds reliever Brent Suter said. “You know, never took a play off, always was running hard 90 (feet), sliding headfirst, you know, getting dirty every game. … This was a guy who just embodied toughness, grit.”

Reds manager Terry Francona also spoke of Rose. He was a teammate of Rose’s with Cincinnati and the Montreal Expos.

“He played baseball with as much passion and competitive enjoyment as you ever could,” he said. “You wanted to be on his team.”

Now, the debate begins over whether Rose should be in the Hall of Fame and whether it was right to keep him out for as long as baseball did.

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“I know I oversimplify things. But what Pete did as a player, if he’s not in, there is no Hall of Fame,” Francona said. “But I get it. There are some things that … I’m glad I don’t have to make (those) decisions.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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