Charlie Hustle. Keith O'Brien.

Charlie Hustle.  Keith O’Brien.   The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and The Last Glory Days of Baseball. 

 

The blog took a mild turn away from the normal book topics reviewed here to read a baseball story.  In fact, this is a story about the inspirational rise and depressing fall of one of the greatest hitters in major league baseball.     This story is about Pete Rose, also known as Charlie Hustle, and his upbringing on the west side of Cincinnati, his unlikely ascension to the hometown professional team and ups and downs as a player, coach and person. 

The author Keith O’Brien compiled many notes, sources and details to produce a very interesting and fair account of the life and times of Rose.    Perhaps it helps that the author is a southwest Ohio native and was immersed in the big red culture as a youngster.    In any case, it is a worthy story neatly transcribed in a 330-page manuscript.     Fans of chronology will like that O’Brien kept the story organized and within a time range from his early day as youngster growing up in the Queen City plugging away at a hopeful career in athletics to becoming a baseball superstar, eventual coach to a disgraced player.   The book is easy to follow from one year to the next as the author was diligent to go in order as often as possible.  This was important because while Rose’s professional life on the field was ascending in the 1960’s and 1970’s the decisions made in his not as well-known personal life would eventually lead to a disappointing unraveling.   

Pete Rose’s life is an interesting case study of good and bad clearly within itself.    However, O’Brien introduces several other key characters along the way that take the story to better-than-expected levels.   Besides his father, his biggest hero, the author described at some length, details about obvious influential coaches as well as teammates from minor league and major league games/seasons.    What may have been surprising was the inclusion and impact of club owners and league commissioners such as Bowie Kuhn, Fay Vincent and especially the short but consequential term of Angelo Bart Giamatti.    In addition, even a hired external investigative attorney becomes a bit of a key figure later in the Pete Rose saga.    

The author reports that Pete Rose had a growing reputation as a gambler.   As a result, he was known to consort with all kinds of characters (some shady) including gamblers and bookmakers.   Perhaps that was due to his lower middle-class upbringing or that he had too much time on his hands during the off-season, or perhaps that he had or still has, unresolved addiction issues.    Coincidentally, early in the book the author discussed a bit of his working-class background and even went as far to classify Rose as lower class more than anything else.    The infielder’s affinity for gambling, as O’Brien repeatedly reported in the book, on football, basketball, horse racing and, unfortunately for Rose, on baseball games (especially his own team) ultimately contributed to the fall.  Not to mention O’Brien skillfully includes the reported fact that Rose used or took advantage of associates to do the dirty work so as not to have it traced directly back to his name.  

Ultimately the gambling, especially betting on his own team while coaching the Reds in the late 1980’s, came to a head.    Through negotiations with commissioners of the National League and legal authorities, Rose signed a contract essentially barring him from involvement in any form with Major League Baseball and even resulting with time serving a relatively short prison term.      The author reported that Rose came across as foolish in this negotiation and was likely outsmarted by the officials on the other side of this case.  

For those that want to read about Rose’s hitting success and playing experiences many accounts and details are included such as his time in the 1970 all-star game noting his controversial “slide” into the American League catcher, his experiences in achieving a 44-game hitting streak in 1978, play-off and world series experiences and even when he became the all-time hits leader in major league baseball during the 1985 season.   But what made and still makes him interesting are his exploits off the field and the author keenly captures many of those travails throughout his playing days and now later in his life.  While the author does NOT opine his thoughts on whether Rose should be an elected member of the baseball hall of fame, O’Brien presents enough facts that might give even the staunchest Charlie Hustle supporters a reason to pause.   

There have been many stories written about the main character over the past 50 years or so.   In fact, the player has published a few books on his own about his career and life.   However, Charlie Hustle provides an objective take on his character, his career and his life.    Whether one is a Pete Rose admirer (or otherwise), a Cincinnati Reds fan or even a casual baseball aficionado, there is much to learn and glean from the fascinating baseball opus.   The author’s broad-mindedness helps to fairly present the facts at hand but also subtly drops his take on the matter as well regarding his character flaws and blame for how the end of his career unfolded.   

This book came as a welcome change from the normal football and basketball stories covered in this blog.  Rose was a well-known sports figure in his heyday but his personal life, especially from fans or observers from far away, was not nearly as recognizable and that is what makes this story intriguing and sets it apart from other publications.   Because the author did not dwell on the minutia of too many baseball games, because the subject was just as fascinating off the field as on it and because the author included the intrigue of what could have been instead of a fallen disgraced legacy, even though Rose still seems to have his fair share of admirers well into his eighties, makes this a book well worth considering for venerable baseball fans but also those, young or otherwise, inquisitive to the glory days of Rose and professional baseball.  

 

·         You might like to read this book if you are a Pete Rose fan.

·         You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading about the Cincinnati Reds and the success of the “big red machine”. 

·         You might like to read this book if you are a fan of National League baseball teams.

·         You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading about baseball history and controversies connected with the sport. 

 

Read more about the author on X:   https://x.com/KeithOB