Monthly Archives: June 2013

During research for my earlier post, I reached out to Donny Knepper who created LiftTheBan.net –  a campaign to reinstate Pete Rose. Donny was kind enough to offer his unique thoughts on the matter while making it clear he does not have any knowledge of this particular event.

Mr. Knepper has presented a different spin on perhaps why Pete Rose’s visit to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Coca-Cola Park was canceled.  The Wall Street Journal article I cited before mentions Pete has a contract with Hit King, Inc. that runs through 2017 which Donny mentions below.

For anyone interested in still meeting Pete and getting an autograph he is scheduled (at this time) to appear on June 15th at County Line Fence and Outdoor Products in Warrington, PA – details here. Perhaps we’ll get a few words from Pete on that day and if fit to post they will certainly appear on this site.

Reply from Donny Knepper – LiftTheBan.net

Thank you for contacting me. I am the President & Co-Founder of Lift the Ban, LLC. We are the fan-based campaign to reinstate Pete Rose. You can find us online at LiftTheBan.net. We launched the campaign in February 2012. We proceed under the theory that if the fans come together and demand that Pete Rose be reinstated, then MLB will take corrective action. 

The ban is the product of a private contract between Pete and MLB; and just like any other contract it is rescindable at the will of the parties. Lift the Ban strives towards placing social pressure on MLB so that it has some motivation to lift this ridiculous ban.

As for the cancellation of Pete’s Fathers Day appearance, I don’t have any personal knowledge of exactly what happened or who made the decision to cancel the event. I understand that many people are turned off by: (1) Pete charging a fee for his autograph; and (2) the strict parameters limiting what Pete will sign. It certainly does not help his public image, not that Pete really cares. I am sure there are many people who blame Pete even though it is not entirely his fault.

As you stated in your article, this is how Pete makes his living. A lot of people do not realize that there is an entire sub-culture dedicated to collecting sports memorabilia. Almost every notable former athlete is involved in the industry to one degree or another. They all have agents and most of them have contracts with companies who are in the sports memorabilia business. The former athlete is usually restricted by that contract and so can only sign certain things such as photographs and baseballs that are also manufactured by that same memorabilia business.

My guess, although I cannot be sure, is that the company who has a contract with Pete is the one who put the kibosh on the IronPigs event. Pete, by autographing an IronPigs baseball, violates his contract with the memorabilia company.

Pete Rose is still obsessed with his numbers. At any given signing-event he wants to achieve certain numbers; a certain number of items signed and a certain number of dollars earned. I don’t believe he does this out of greed for money. He is driven by something internal to achieve those numbers. In this regard, he is still the same Pete Rose that we watched surpass Ty Cobb. If he is not going to be able to accumulate numbers at a given event then Pete has no incentive to perform.

If you have ever been to an event where Pete is signing autographs then you know that he grinds out some autograph signing. It is one autograph after another after another after another until the damn thing is done. He takes very little time to chat with the person receiving the autograph. The guy hardly even looks up.

If you want to talk to Pete and get some good war stories then you have to hook up with him in Vegas where he lives and works. His job is signing autographs but he seems to have more leeway on what he can and cannot sign when he is in Vegas. Again, it all comes down to the different contracts.

Pete is certainly susceptible to all sorts of criticism for how he chooses to earn a living. I form no opinions on the matter. Pete is free to live his life any way he wants. Through running Lift the Ban I have heard many stories of Pete acting like a jerk. Those stories don’t matter to me either. We did not launch Lift the Ban because Pete Rose is a nice guy; rather we launched Lift the Ban because Pete Rose’s spirit is aligned with all that is good about baseball. Pete Rose provides the blueprint on how to earn success. In this seemingly never-ending era of artificial enhancement, MLB should be holding Pete Rose up as the example of what is possible with blue-collar desire and consistent effort. The banishment of Pete Rose is harmful to the soul of baseball and it has hurt Pete Rose to his core.

Lift the Ban is about more than entry into the Hall of Fame, it is about reinstatement into baseball. The ban does way more than keep Pete out of the HOF.

I hope this email is helpful. As I said, I have no specific information about the IronPigs event and so the best I can do is provide you with an educated guess.

Donny Knepper
—
Donald M. Knepper, Esquire
The Law Offices of Donny Knepper, LLC

Many thanks to Donny Knepper and why not stop by LiftTheBan.net and grab a T-shirt to support the cause!

At this point we’ll put the Rose visit ‘out to wallow’ (unless we discover something extra worth reporting).

4,256 Dishing

First, I urge you to read Dan’s post  -> Pete Rose Missed Out on Coca Cola Park – it’s quite poignant and frankly I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Much like our esteemed editor I too am a lifelong Pete Rose fan (without the sweet Jersey). What happened with Rose is certainly unfortunate and debatable until the end of time but not really the point of this post.

Rule 21 – posted at every MLB venue
(photo courtesy Bryan Sargent)
(click to enlarge)

Let’s not fret for Pete though since according to The Wall Street Journal  Rose makes $1 million a year signing autographs in Las Vegas (ironically enough).

Certainly there is no blame to place upon the IronPigs and kudos to whomever came up with the idea and for GM Kurt Landes for going along with it. While it didn’t turn out the way we all hoped a google search of Pete Rose IronPigs resulted in over 140,000 results while IronPigs Urinal Games only resulted in just over 21,900.

Regardless of all that…

As Dan mentioned in his post, Pete has appeared twice (in an official MLB capacity) in 1999 before a World Series Game (the Jim Gray interview) and again in 2010 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to celebrate the 25th anniversary of  his 4,192nd hit when he passed Ty Cobb. (Rose’s lifetime hit total – the best ever is 4,256.)

Wait? What? Lifetime ban – huh?

So it seems when convenient the commissioner does make exceptions or at least follows the rules. (see below)

As announced by the IronPigs, advanced ticket sales will be refunded to those who purchased them with the chance to meet Baseball’s all-time hit leader.

You see folks, there’s the rub…

Rose simply cannot be advertised as appearing at Coca-Cola Park on behalf of a MLB affiliated team such as the IronPigs, can’t charge $20/autograph and his signature cannot appear on an IronPigs’ baseball.*

However, Pete has attended MLB games as a ticket purchasing customer. Hmmm, one might say.

Furthermore, according to Wikipedia:

A person who has been banned from Major League Baseball is barred from:

• employment with MLB or one of its franchises or affiliated minor leagues as a player, coach, or manager, or in the front office
• acting as a sports agent for an MLB player, coach, or manager
• *maintaining business ties with MLB or one of its franchises [the cancellation reason], e.g., a banned person must purchase a ticket in order to attend a game [OK]
  • The exception to this is if MLB or one of its teams invites the banned person to participate in an event such as a public recognition ceremony. [the solution]
• induction to the Hall of Fame, whether the person is living or deceased

So, Pete could in fact make that appearance at Coca-Cola Park after all and here’s how:

First, the IronPigs hold a “Phillies Special Player Recognition Ceremony“.  For kicks we’ll simply call it 4256 night. Next, let’s say the first 4,256 people through the gate get a special (sponsored) “Recognition Baseball” with the number 4,256 written on it along with a random chance to have it autographed by Pete Rose himself!  The sponsor takes care of Pete’s ‘travel arrangements’ and there is no business ties to the IronPigs.  No harm – no foul… Right?

If not, just sell Pete a bloody ticket – he could sit at a table in the Red Robin Tiki Terrace – then what could be the problem? Right?

The whole thing is just silly. Right?

Will this ever happen?

The Magic 8 Ball just revealed – Don’t count on it.

But it sure would be fun to give it a shot if the IronPigs have the (Base)balls to do it!

Pete Rose to Coca-Cola Park!

Wishing Dishing