Loading ...Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, right or wrong, Pete Rose will always say what’s on his mind:
They aren’t as good this year as they were last year (74-88, fifth place). They didn’t do anything this winter to really help themselves. They acquired a catcher (Ramon Hernandez) who hit .257. Stevie Wonder could hit .230.
But wait! There’s more:
I went to an NBA game in Indianapolis (last week). I wouldn’t have gone if LeBron James wasn’t playing. Who do the fans in Dayton have to drive to see on the Reds? You don’t want fans in Dayton driving to see the opposition. Who would you pay to see on the Reds?
They have to create some identity for the fans with players. They had it with Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, but now who do they have?
Then…
We (the Big Red Machine) ruined it for them by being so good. You aren’t going to get attendance if you don’t win. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is. If they don’t get off to a good start, with the economy, they’re in trouble. I mean, what reason did they give fans last year to come back this year?
Go read the whole interview. Rose is always entertaining, if nothing else.
Entertaining? Sure.
However his opinion means very little to me. Who would the people from Dayton drive in to see? Jay Bruce. Joey Votto. Aaron Harang. Bronson Arroyo. Brandon Phillips. Johnny Cueto.
As for citing batting average…. ouch.
He is right with the attendance though. If they aren’t winning quickly, fans aren’t going to show up.
I can’t say that I disagree with much of anything Pete says in the interview.
I live about 120 miles from Cincinnati. I love the Reds. I’ve not been to a game, however, in about 5 years. The last couple years have been because we’ve got a new baby. The years before that… well, I was tired of seeing them lose.
Right now, there’s no one on the team that I’d drive 120 miles to see play — Bruce, Votto, and Volquez are about as close as it comes, but until they can establish themselves as premier players, I’ll be fine to watch them on TV. Spoiled by the BRM? Yeah, I guess so. As I recall, my family didn’t go to a lot of games in the early ’80s either, when the Reds were dropping 90-100+ games a year. We’d go to 3-4 games a year in the 1970s and from the mid-’80s to the early ’90s (when Pete was back and the Reds were contending most every year.)
Will I travel to see a good team/game/players? You bet I will. Went to NYC last summer to see a game at the Stadium and to see A-Rod and Jeter. Been talking to a friend in Missouri about heading out to a Cardinals game this summer (and I HATE the Cards) just so I can see Pujols play in his home park.
But I can say right now, the only thing that’ll get me to a game in Cincy this summer is if this team is still in contention by the All-Star break. Then, I’ll give them a chance and some of my money. Otherwise, I’ll be fine to catch them on FoxSports and WLW.
I think my money’s safe, though.
Rose was right with everything he said. On my son’s walls are framed posters of Griffey, Dunn, and Kearns…same with bobbleheads.
A friend asked me about buying a jersey to wear to a Reds game…he didn’t know one single player left on the Reds that I mentioned. They didn’t buy a jersey.
There’s a whole bunch of profit in memoriabilia…and the Reds are going to miss it until those other guys grow into their projected roles….or they sign someone for people to come and see.
People as in Joe Fan….
That Stevie Wonder comment was great!!!
As per Steve’s comment –
About this time last year, I spotted a sale at a chain sporting goods store in my area. Two of the items on sale were Dunn and Griffey jerseys for about $100/each. I thought for a while about picking one up, but then realized whichever I chose would be antiquated by that July. I kept my cash in my pocket. When I was in NYC last summer, though, I was about to lay down $225 for a Jeter jersey, but couldn’t find a proper fit. Woulda spent twice as much on it as a soon-to-be-gone Dunn or Griffey if I had.
Good Lord, Pete. Pull your head out. People will come if they are winning, no matter who the “names” are. Winners will make their own names. If Jimmy Haynes was the staff ace and they won 90 games, people would come. Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass who is playing as long as the team is winning. I might be in the minority. As much as I couldn’t stand Freel, if he helped the Reds win, I was all for it. I don’t need a name player to go watch my team.
Don’t you have anything to sell, Pete???
I like it when former Reds greats speak their mind. To me it sends a message to the current owners, management, and players that they’re merely caretakers of the franchise, that there’s a larger dynamic at play and there is a responsibility to own up to it. Great franchises have it—Yankees, Dodgers, etc. Keep it coming.
To Pete’s point…a couple of things bring out fans – winning and marquee players. Obviously, there are some fans who are influenced by one more than the other. And there are some fans who go to games regardless of winning or marquee players. I would expect winning to trump marquee players, especially for those who live closer to the city. Those who would have to take the farther trip might be more influenced by a marquee player.
He wouldn’t have gone to an Indianapolis NBA game if Lebron wasn’t visiting. I would imagine there are people living in Columbus who made it a point to go see to a Reds game over an Indians game for a chance to see Griffey play.
Pete’s right about star power, but he shouldn’t dismiss the young guys just yet.
I, for one, am tired of hearing about the Big Red Machine. I’m sick of how people use them as a marketing strategy. All it says is, “Let’s trot out the guys from 40 years ago because we’re unable to build a winner now.” Wanna bring the fans back? Stop talking about the Big Red Machine and build a new one.
What ever happened to going to a game because you like baseball? I go to some games every year. I go when the Reds suck because it’s fun to get out and see a game. It’s still cheaper than a movie if you are a local fan ($7 for bleachers), and IMO a lot more fun.
I realize that attendance goes way up when the Reds win, but most of the people at the games then are goofballs who don’t even really pay attention to the game.
I would think people reading this blog are fans enough to see some games no matter what the Reds are doing. If you’re a baseball fan and not so much a Reds fan, go see Pujols or some other “star.” (Or just go see some baseball.) If you’re a Reds fan moreso than a pure baseball fan, support the team in the leaner times as well. It’s not a political matter, as many like to state it, it’s just a fun (pretty cheap) thing to do on a summer day or night, so what’s the big deal?
I don’t know the whole back story….but, I think we missed an opportunity to add depth…
Second baseman Adam Kennedy signed a minor league contract with the Devil Rays. If he makes the team, he costs them $400,000
I think it is ludicrous to suggest that Dunn and Griffey were significant attendance draws. I think people are hungry to see something besides Dunn oaf around the park and hit a tape measure homerun and see Griffey pull up short on yet another bloop hit that he can’t get to. It is all about winning. Names will become marquee when they show the ability to lead a winning team, not just swing pretty and have a good eye. Dunn was such a marquee name that he is now playing with the Nationals. The two together were part of one winning team in 10 years, and Dunn never played on a winning team.
So, pardon me, Pete, if the money is now available to build a winning team over an entertaining Home Run Derby team.
Allow me to defend myself a bit –
I love the Reds. I love baseball. I support and follow my high school team (it helps that I teach there) and go to a few games every year when I can. I also attend Lexington Legends games — my closest minor league team (Houston, Sally League) — at least once a year, usually a few times. Yeah, I’m not seeing any “stars” at these minor league games — maybe guys who might be stars or at least everyday major leaguers a few years down the road — but I am seeing baseball. And I love it.
However, I’m not from Dayton, or Middletown, or Hamilton, or Florence, or Covington. Getting to Cincy for a ballgame takes more time, money, and effort than going to a local game or one in nearby Lexington. If I’m going to make that trip, I want to see something worth my time, money, and effort. I want to see a team that can contend and win on the field. I’d go to see a winning Reds team, even if there was no marquee player on the roster.
But if the Reds are not winning — the case for the past 8 years and the outlook for the current one — then there had better be someone on the field that I can tell my grandkids about. Someone like my dad used to talk about from the ’50s and ’60s, like Frank Robinson or even visiting players like Clemente, Aaron, or Mays. Otherwise, it makes more sense for me to watch or listen to the games from the comfort of my own home.
And, yes, having Ken Griffey, Jr. in a Reds uniform was enough to get me to come to Cincinnati for a game for about 5 years in a row.
Did Pete give the Vegas odds on the Reds winning the division this year?
I wish Pete would keep his big mouth shut. I must be in the minority but I don’t find his opinions entertaining. I think they are full of arrogance, which epitomizes him.
The Reds have their own identity now, or are in the process of finding one. Yet somehow he acts like he still manages him or they are his team. If I lived within 100 miles of the Queen City, I’d be there several times a year to see the youngsters play. I’m excited about Bruce, Votto, Cuteo, Volquez and the youth movement. They have the potential to be good for years to come. We don’t need to relive the glory years, as John eludes to in #9.
Last I checked, Mr Rose was banned from baseball for disgracing it. I’m going to listen to HIM??
Pete is absolutely right; the Reds need a starting lefthanded pitcher.
If nothing else Pete is entertaining.
Off topic but interesting comments by Matthew Berry about the Reds’ pitching staff and how the Reds will do this year.
http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k9tmrlovehate
Pete’s right: this current team can’t draw fans. Look, I love the current young players. I am die-hard Reds fan. I am hopeful the team is finally going in the right direction. I’d say we’re in year 2 of an actual, bona fide 5 year plan. But I’m not going to drive 150 miles to see Johnny Cueto. At least not yet. It’s just not feasible financially or practically. Maybe I’ll do it once a year, but no more.
And the casual fans….they can’t name more than five Reds. My parents for example. They used to go to several games a year. They aren’t going anymore because they don’t know who the players are. So, the current team isn’t going to consistently draw casual fans and die-hards fans who live a long way away. This doesn’t mean the team is not promising. It’s just the truth.
A couple of points: Every team would like to start out with established stars. But they are expensive these days, and the team didn’t win with them, which leads to the second point – the fans did not turn out last year, even with the two big names.
I actually love to relive the BRM. I got the privilege of watching them play in my youth. But they are not the standard to measure the organization by from that point forward. However, when all you really have is that era to hang your hat on because it has been nearly a decade since a winning season, people hang on to the past. Sort of like Browns’ fans, who talk about the Jim Brown era when Super Bowls come up.
Edinson Volquez is worth buying a ticket in the lower deck. I was down there on the first-base side for his debut, and his first couple of fastballs set the place abuzz. His first changeup drew gasps.
I go to about a half-dozen games a year and would love to attend more, but I work until 8 p.m. through the week. I usually walk from my house in Newport, buy a $5 ticket from the scalper on the bridge and park myself in the LF lower level. I’ll be sort of disappointed if/when they get good, because I’ll have to either spend more on tickets or sit up in the nosebleeds.
@Steve Price… Adam Kennedy would have no shot at making our team and was in no way a wasted opportunity. Reds management will get better use from their money if they take a dump, use the $400K to wipe, then flush it all down the toilet.
I also agree with those who say people will show if we are winning.
People WILL show if they’re winning, regardless of whether they have any “stars” or not because once they ARE winning, these stars will emerge.
It happens EVERY year with previously unknowns (amongst the common fan anyway) once they make it into the playoffs. Suddenly, the unknowns are now “name” players. Common sense.
And who on here is anyone to judge Pete when it comes to baseball? As a human being, yeah, judge him all you want, but Pete Rose knows more about baseball (having been part of MLB for roughly half his life – can anybody here even begin to claim that?) than we could even begin to know.
Get a grip, naysayers. Anyone on here who thinks they know more about baseball than Pete Rose, his gregarious opinions aside, has to have a serious God-complex.
I would pay big money to see the Big Red Machine players even in their present shape and as old as they are play the current Reds team. That would sell some tickets!
Votto and Bruce remind me of when Kearns and Dunn first got to the bigs, youth and high expectations!
I will pay to see them as long as the Reds keep paying them to play!
Ever heard of Jay Bruce or Joe Votto? Give them time you old degenerate
Why wouldn’t Adam Kennedy have a chance to make our team?
Anybody in baseball has a chance to make our team…
Anyway, he signed a minor league contract.
How many games will Gonzalez play this year? he hasn’t played more than 111 games in 3 years, hasn’t played in more than 130 since 1994 and he’s approaching utility age for a shortstop.
Not that Kennedy’s that much younger….but, in case anyone’s forgotten, we ran out of infielders last season…
#1 reason fans come to games: when teams are winning
#2 reason fans come to games: to see their favorite players (those who don’t have kids may not realize this….)
#3 reason fans come to games: they love the game
#4 reason fans come to games: those who feel they should go at least once a year
Fans that love the game are the 10,000 that always show for the Reds
The other 15,000 come to Reds games now because of a player or from tradition. This makes the Reds $20 million per year….
That obviously accounts for the 25,000 that keep coming for the Reds…when they won in 1999, attendance jumped 3000 per game from 1998 and then 6000 more per game in 2000 (always lags one year behind).
It’s the memorabilia that the Reds push that reaps the profits. Nobody’s going to the games to get a Norris Hopper shirt.
Last year we went after Dunn/Griffey were traded…only shirt available was Ryan Freel….I knew better than to buy (for all sorts of reasons)
We finally found a Jay Bruce shirt at one kiosk…the Reds didn’t even have enough of them made…Votto was not to be found.
May be they should hire professional marketers, too?
Pete has always been a straight shooter but I hope that he is wrong on how the team does. This team does have some potential but they do need to get off to a good start or his prediction will be true.
Pete is RIGHT on this, and Castellini and the rest of Management should know better.
Yeah, buddy – Let’s see some more of those winning ways in Redsland…another winning season in the 21st Century.
Okay, let’s see the first one in many years?