Pete Rose FYIs

[tacprc]

Here is what Pete says about rubbing and sanding his bats on pages 78-80 of his 1985 book with Peter Golenbock titled "Pete Rose On Hitting."

Note: The book's many illustrative photographs show Rose wearing his Reds home uniform and wielding a Mizuno PR4000 model ash-colored bat -- so the photos were likely snapped after August 17, 1984 and before the start of the 1985 season.

"Making Adjustments
Every night after the game, I take a clean towel and some alcohol, and I clean off the barrel of my bat. Some of my teammates think I'm crazy. Let me explain why I do it.
It is crucial to me that I begin the game hitting with a clean bat. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred when I hit the ball, it leaves a mark on the bat, so that starting with my first time up, I can come back to the dugout and actually study my bat to see whether I was judging the speed of the pitches properly.
My goal is to hit the ball at the signature on the bat. That tells me I am meeting the ball squarely.
Say I am leading off and a pitcher throws a fastball, and I foul it back. If I look at the bat and see a mark down near the trademark, I'll say to myself, "This guy is throwing harder that I thought he was." Because I wasn't quick enough, I didn't get the bat out fast enough to hit the ball at the signature. If I hit it up near the end, I'll say, "He isn't throwing all that hard." I swung too quickly. I should have waited longer.
If the mark is right where it's supposed to be, I say to myself, "I'm right on the guy. There's no problem." I know I have him.
By the end of the game, I've noted every single one of the marks on my bat and understood how they got there.
Many times during the course of a game I will check the marks on the bat and make an adjustment. Sometimes in the middle of the count, I'll foul the ball off, look at the bat, and adjust my hands either up or down the bat for the next pitch.
I remember I was facing Craig Swan during my forty-four game hitting streak. I had reached thirty-eight games in a row. The first pitch of the game was a ball. Then Swan threw an inside fastball, and I fouled it back. I called time out and looked at the bat. The mark was about an inch down the handle from where it should have been. He was throwing harder than I had thought. So I choked up a little, trying to make the bat a little lighter.
Swan again threw the same pitch inside, but this time I hit a line drive over the shortstop's head for a base hit. If I hadn't adjusted, it would have been another foul ball, and the count would have been 0 and 2.
I clean my bat after every game to prepare it for the next game. If the bat is chipped, I sand it down to keep it smooth. I use the same bat so many times that after a couple weeks, my name "Genuine Pete Rose Mizuno" wears off completely.
It doesn't take any time to clean the bat off. Why don't other players do this? I don't know. Maybe they think it's too much trouble.
Some players will check their bats to see where they've been hitting during batting practice. By they don't do it during an actual game when it's more valuable.
I make adjustments in two of my four at bats. To me it's all part of the fun of the game, of being involved in the game. And the adjustments make me concentrate on my one goal: hitting the ball hard.
I have been cleaning my bat for so long it has become a ritual. When I come in after the game, the first thing I will do is sit down and clean the pine tar off my batting glove with the alchohol. I put alcohol on my towel, clean the glove off, put the glove up and then use the towel to wipe off my bat.
After I do that, I remove the strip of tape toward the handle of the bat. That strip of tape has my pine tar, which keeps the bat from slipping. The tape keeps the pine tar from caking up on the bat. When it gets too heavy, I remove the tape and put on a new strip."

[tacprc]

fyi, Pete Rose did bone his bats. There is a picture and caption of him doing this in the April 14 1986 issue of Sports Illustrated. The article is called "The Good Wood." You can read it in the Sports Illustrated vault.

I confirmed this fact about six months ago when I had the opportunity to speak with Pete Rose during filming for the upcoming documentary called "4192: The Crowning of the Hit King."

[tacprc]

fyi, The 4192 bat and ball are on open, permanent display in the Wolter's Sports Investments store in Cincinnati. Anyone can clearly see for him or herself that the 4192 bat has not been corked -- so no need to x-ray it.

[tacprc]

fyi, here's an interesting quote from page 149 of "Countdown To Cobb: My Diary of the Record-Breaking 1985 Season" by Pete Rose with Hal Bodley. This book was published in 1985 by The Sporting News Publishing Co.

"My bats this year have a black finish, with "PR-4192" on them. When I get a new bat, I put some tape grips on the handle, then sand the paint off the barrel. I clean the bat with rubbing alcohol so that when I take batting practice, I can check the smudges on the bat to see where the ball is hitting it.

I've done this for as long as I can remember because if you're swinging good, the ball must hit the bat in the proper place every time.

When I went to Japan in the fall of 1980 to sign a deal with the Mizuno Corp. to use its bats, Hal Bodley (co-author of this book) suggested that my bats carry the numerical designation "PR-3631." His idea was that I'd surely break Stan Musial's N.L. career hit record of 3,630 in 1981 and that "3631" would be fitting. Since then, the number has been changed to "PR-4000" and now "PR-4192" for the obvious reason.

As I've said, I don't stick my bats in the cart with all the others. I take them with me to my office after a game and always know where they are. I just never let my bats get very far away from me. Especially this year, because a lot of people are trying to get them for souvenirs."

[tacprc]

fyi, I believe that the Baseball Hall of Fame has Rose's batting helmet and spikes from the 4192 Hit game. These may have passed through Barry Halper's hands to the HOF.

Barry had the jersey, pants, and hat that Pete was wearing when he got the big knock.

[tacprc]

fyi, When Pete used Louisville Slugger R195 and R211 bats in 1979 and 1980 with a dark brown Hornsby finish, he sanded the barrels.

[tacprc]

fyi, here's another interesting quote from "Countdown To Cobb" -- this time from page 43.

I've learned one thing managing I probably knew all along, but never really paid much attention to. In baseball today, one thing that hurts young players -- and some of the veterans, too -- is they don't prepare themselves right for a game.

They just don't get ready. The game starts and they don't know where in hell their bats are. They don't know where their batting gloves are. I'm serious.

I just hope they watch me. You can ask anybody on this team who in this league knows at all times where his bats are. Pete Rose. I do.

Because everywhere I go, I've got that bat with me. I take my ground balls and I put it right by the screen near first base. When I'm through with ground balls, I take my glove and my hat and I get my batting helmet and I have my bat in hand.

I'm the only guy on the team who after the game takes his bats out of the dugout rack and puts them in his locker, or next to my desk in my office when we're home.

I've seen guys go on road trips and they're ticked off they don't have their bats. I say, "Where are they?" "The batboy was supposed to pack them in the bags," they say.

"What do you mean the batboy is supposed to put your bats in the bags? You have to pick your own bats out and put them in the bags yourself. That's your responsibility."

[tacprc]

Here's a final quote from page 202 of "Countdown To Cobb."

"I got the big knock (hit No. 4,192) tonight -- a single off San Diego's Eric Show in the first inning. The Cobb record is mine.

I also got a triple and a walk and scored both our runs as we beat the Padres, 2-0. I ended the game by making a diving stop on a Steve Garvey grounder. The whole thing was like a movie script.

I picked out a different bat tonight, one that was a little lighter. I was whipping it pretty good in batting practice and decided to go with it."

[platinum1]

Here's a final quote from page 202 of "Countdown To Cobb."

"I got the big knock (hit No. 4,192) tonight -- a single off San Diego's Eric Show in the first inning. The Cobb record is mine.

I also got a triple and a walk and scored both our runs as we beat the Padres, 2-0. I ended the game by making a diving stop on a Steve Garvey grounder. The whole thing was like a movie script.

I picked out a different bat tonight, one that was a little lighter. I was whipping it pretty good in batting practice and decided to go with it."

Maybe because the bat was corked LOL

[tacprc]

fyi, in 1985 Rose started games against right-handed pitchers only. For the most part Tony Perez started the games against left-handed pitchers.

Overall Rose batted 2.64 = 107 hits against 405 at bats.
Versus right-handed pitchers Rose batted 2.52 = 90 hits against 357 at bats.
Versus left-handed pitchers Rose batted 3.54 = 17 hits against 48 at bats.

Since Rose was a switch hittter and batted lefty against righty pitchers, PR4192 bats will have the majority of their ball marks, sanding, etc. on the right-hand side of the barrel.