Hi, this is Wes. I have a very special treat today. For those of you who saw the video that was posted recently, courtesy of Michael Halberstam, of Pete Rose signing a baseball for me, well, the FedEx driver arrived yesterday and brought me the baseball. Let me show it to you. It says, Wes, a great fan. Pete Rose. 4,256. 4,256 is the number of hits he has. More hits than any other Major Leaguer in the history– Major League baseball.
And you’ll see I have a picture of Pete for your enjoyment over my shoulder here, sliding into the base. Now, I particularly enjoyed Pete as a Philly. He’s more well-known as a Cincinnati Red, but he joined the Phillies for a few years. He joined in 1979 and had a terrific year. He hit 331.
The next year, he helped lead them to their first World Series. The last of the original Major League teams to win a World Series. And one particular memory of Pete in that series that some of you may recall. There is the last game– the 6th game of the series– the Phillies were leading. There was one out in the ninth.
Frank White of the Royals hit a foul pop-up down the first base side. And Bob Boone, the catcher, went over– and so did Pete Rose, thank god. And Bob put his glove out, and the ball bounced in and bounced out. And just as it was about to hit the ground, Pete Rose threw his glove in there, and snatched the ball, and made the out. So that made it two outs in the ninth.
And then the next play, the next batter was Willie Wilson, and Tug McGraw struck him out. And then pandemonium ensued as the Phillies won their first World Series. So that was a great memory of Pete as a Philly. He was known as Charlie Hustle. He was the guy that actually ran to first base on walks. He epitomized that throughout his baseball career.
Anyway, I want to thank Michael Halberstam for sending the ball. And I wanted to give you this follow-up video. Thanks a lot.