Below is a transcript of Pete Rose's speech at Great American Ballpark to commemorate the unveiling of his statue on Fathers Day weekend, Saturday June 17, 2017.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You will not make me cry today. This is a happy day. Hey, I'm in the Reds Hall of Fame—that’s enough. There are Hall of Fames all over the world we live in, but the Reds Hall of Fame is number one, no question about it. Thanks to all my family members over here—I’ve got more grandkids than I know where they all came from!
You see more kids, all I do is grow kids.
All these teammates over here, they’re all great. Everyone should have a statue, not just three of them.
You know, when I played the game of baseball—as you all know—I grew up here in Cincinnati. Actually, I was born about five miles from here and played Knothole baseball my whole life. Is it a coincidence that Dave Parker, Buddy Bell, Ronnie Oster, Billy Doran, Tony Scott, Leon Durham—all these guys born here in Cincinnati—all played the same way? Bust your ass and win the game.
You guys didn’t even realize this, but all the years I played, you motivated me. I was raised on the same water, the same food that you guys were raised on. I know the traditions of Cincinnati baseball. I know how you want to win. I know how you want the players to play hard. You didn’t know, but every night I went out there, you motivated me to play hard. You motivated me to get base hits. I just happened to have a bunch of great teammates who felt the same way about the game as I did. We wanted to entertain you guys—second to none—which we did.
I will never get in front of a group and say the Big Red Machine was the greatest baseball team in the history of baseball. But I will say this, and I think you guys will agree with it: it was the most entertaining team in the history of baseball.
When you’ve got white Hall-of-Famers, Black Hall-of-Famers, Latino Hall-of-Famers, you’ve got something going on—no question about it. Over there sits the greatest second baseman in the history of baseball, Joe Morgan. Just bring another name, talk to me, and I’ll answer that question. There sits the greatest catcher there will ever be in the history of baseball, Johnny Bench. There are a lot of great ballplayers, but this guy is the greatest Cuban player in the history of baseball, Tony Pérez.
And this guy, David Concepción, is one of the greatest Venezuelan players in baseball. Griffey—I can’t say you’re the best baseball player from Donora, Pennsylvania, because I think your dad was from there. So was Stan Musial, by the way, from Donora, Pennsylvania. And of course, George Foster, who came over and set the world on fire.
I remember when Sparky said to me one night, “Petey, we need some more offense. You’ve got to help me.” I said, “Sparky, what do you want me to do? I’m leading the league in hitting.” He said, “I want you to go to third base.” I said, “When?” He said, “Friday.” So I had to go from left field to third base, and of course, George got into left field, and we went on to win two straight World Championships. No question about that.
One more thing, and I’ll get out of here because I know everybody’s hot as can be up here. I want you guys to understand: fans make a difference. We as players know where you are. We can hear you. We want you to come to the ballpark. We want you to root for us. We want you to be part of a winning tradition, which you are here in Cincinnati. So, continuously support the Reds. They’re going to get better with that guy, Mr. Castellini, owning the team. They’ve got to get better—this guy is a winner.
We’re not rebuilding here; we’re reloading. There’s no rebuilding here in Cincinnati. All the rebuilding is on I-75.
So in closing, remember—you make it happen. Without you, we wouldn’t play baseball. And another group I want to thank while I’m at it: the owners of baseball teams. We should all thank the owners of baseball teams because if they don’t own the teams, we don’t get a chance to play. I played for a lot of different owners in the game of baseball. They just ought to be glad I’m not playing today because I would break the damn bank. So would Johnny, so would Joe, so would Tony, and so would David.
If we were playing today, I’d walk in and say to Mr. Castellini, “Hey, partner, how you doing?” Once again, I love you guys. I always think about you. Please, keep supporting your Cincinnati Reds.
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The ceremony concluded with Reds Hall of Fame Board President Tyler McMullen presenting an official Rawlings Major League Baseball to be used for the ceremonial first pitch.
Pete Rose III took the mound, representing the youngest generation of the Rose family, while his grandfather, Pete Rose Sr., stepped into the batter’s box. Pete Rose Jr. took his position behind the plate as catcher. Another Rose son, Tyler Rose (named after Ty Cobb), served as the umpire. The crowd erupted into applause as three generations of the Rose family celebrated the occasion.