Granillo: A visual look at the night Pete Rose broke the hits record
From SABR member Larry Granillo at Baseball Prospectus on February 12, 2013:
There is a secret haven of MLB gems hidden in iTunes right now. Under the heading “Baseball’s Best,” you can find over 150 games ranging from the 1952 World Series to Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game in 2009. The games feature no-hitters, record-breakers, classic postseason battles and more. Best of all, these games are available in their full, original broadcast (including everything but the commercials) for only $1.99. Today we look at one of these gems: the San Diego at Cincinnati match on September 11, 1985, when Pete Rose finally surpassed Ty Cobb for the title of All-Time Hit King.
It’s Wednesday night at Riverfront Stadium. The night before, over 51,000 Reds fans had watched 44-year-old player/manager Pete Rose face off against Padres pitcher LaMarr Hoyt in an attempt to break his tie with Ty Cobb atop the all-time hits leaderboard with his 4,192nd career base hit. Rose was hitless in four at-bats, popping out each time he came to the plate. Tonight, it’s 47,000 people cheering their lungs out at the ballpark (bringing the season-long attendance to an “outstanding” 1.6 million). Everyone in Cincinnati is ready to explode in celebration when the moment 23 years in the making finally happens. Luckily for Rose, he has a sympathetic manager penciling in his .267 average and .329 slugging percentage into the number two spot in the lineup (to be fair, Rose’s OBP in early September was still a very solid .389).
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19612
Originally published: February 12, 2013. Last Updated: February 12, 2013.