ST. LOUIS — He's one of the most famous, and most infamous names in the history of sports.
While baseball's all-time hit king may never be fully celebrated by baseball because he bet on the game during his time as a manager, he's not short on stories. And boy does he have some Cardinals stories.
Rose sat down with 5 On Your Side sports director Frank Cusumano for an interview on Sports Plus, where he shared some of those memories, including the time he nearly became a Cardinal.
Rose has also announced a new venture where he picks games for fans on a site called UPickTrade. Fans can pay to get Rose's picks on baseball and other sports.
The year was 1978 and future Hall of Famer Lou Brock was at the end of his career. Cardinals owner August Busch wanted free agent Reds star Pete Rose wearing the birds on the bat. And he offered quite a bit to try and get it done.
"If I had to do it all over again I would have went to the Cardinals. Because he (Busch) offered me a Budweiser distributorship," Rose recalled. "I liked the Cardinals, I liked the Cardinal organization, but I didn't want to replace Lou Brock. Because Lou Brock is a household name in the St. Louis area and he was retiring and they wanted me to come in and replace Lou Brock. And I wasn't really ready to do that. I had offers from the Atlanta Braves, the Cardinals of course and I went to the Phillies because that was the best team I could see as far as the future was concerned. And it worked because I went there for five years and went to two World Series and won a World Series for the first time in 86 years so it worked out ok for me. But sitting here talking with you I wish I had that Budweiser distributorship."
Rose has quite a few fun Cardinals stories about their biggest stars, including Stan Musial and Bob Gibson.
Musial's last hit the big leagues in 1963 came in Rose's rookie year against his Reds at Busch Stadium. Once the ball came in from the outfield, the rookie Rose handed it to the legend Musial. In 1981, Rose broke Musial's National League hits record with his 3,631st hit against the Cardinals in Philadelphia. And of course, Stan was there to congratulate him.
"Stan Musial is one of the top 5 players in the history of baseball," Rose said. "You look at his record and it's amazing. He was a really good hitter and a really really good guy."
As for Gibson, Rose learned early on the fiery Cardinals ace wouldn't talk to an opponent during a game. Also in Rose's rookie year of 1963, Gibson doubled. Rose tried to make conversation with him on second base asking, "Was that a slider you hit, Gibby?" Gibson didn't respond. Almost 24 hours later while Rose was watching batting practice the next day, Gibson came up and casually said, "It was a slider, Rook."
Rose said St. Louis has always been an organization Rose has admired.
"Other than Cincinnati I've got the utmost respect for the Cardinals organization. They're a first-class organization," Rose said. "They teach the young players how to play and they always seem to be competitive."
As for these current Cardinals? Rose think very highly of new addition Nolan Arenado.
"That guy can hit. He'll get hot this year and St. Louis will get hot," Rose said. "Because Arenado can carry a team. I like to watch him play."
Fans will be arguing about Rose's National Baseball Hall of Fame status likely long after he's gone. But the man himself said he's stopped thinking about it.
"No. I don't think about it all. I'm in the Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, I've got a statue at the ballpark and I've got my number retired. I was born three miles from the ballpark and Cincinnati. So that means a lot to me because I'm a hometown kid," Rose said.
And for how he wants to be remembered? The hit-king doesn't mince his words.
"I was the biggest winner in the history of sports. Because I am," Rose said.