With Pete Rose's death last week I thought I'd bring back a piece I wrote 11 years ago.

(Originally posted on TheTenthInning.com, July 22, 2013)

August 1st will mark the 35th anniversary of Pete Rose’s attempt to break the National League consecutive-game hitting streak held by Wee Willie Keeler.  Keeler’s record was 44 games, set in 1897, which is twelve shy of Joe DiMaggio’s 1941 all-time major-league record of 56.  I was fortunate to be able to attend Rose’s game against the Atlanta Braves on August 1, 1978, one in which he had the opportunity to break Keeler’s record.  I have had the good fortune to attend about 60 or so major-league games in my lifetime, and this was the most historically significant game I attended.

Of course, I had been tracking Rose’s pursuit of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, which started on June 14.  I happened to be attending a training class related to my work in Atlanta the week starting July 31.  It was one of those courses that involved 10-hour class days and had a very rigid schedule.  However, there was no way I was going to miss this game!

So, when Rose tied Keeler’s record of 44 games on July 31, I informed (note I didn’t say “requested”) my training instructor the next morning I would be leaving class early in order to see the game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  I was lucky the instructor was also a baseball fan; hence, he was supportive of my quest and actually detailed out the public transportation bus route for me.  However, he cautioned me there would only be a few buses that would be returning to downtown Atlanta after the game, and I should be especially mindful of the time so as not to miss them.

I arrived at the ballpark in time to see the last of the batting practice swings by the Cincinnati Reds.  Recall that in 1978 some of the remnants of the Big Red Machine teams were still around -- Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, in addition to Rose.  It was quite a thrill to see these guys who were already immortals in my eyes.  I saw Rose spend time with a youngster in a wheelchair down on the field before the game, and I remember thinking, “what a great guy Pete must be.”

I was one of 31,159 fans in attendance at the game, a nice crowd on a weekday.  There was an air of “something special’s going to happen tonight,” in an anticipation of Rose breaking Keeler’s record.

Rose led off the game with a walk for the Reds against Braves starter Larry McWilliams and scored the first of three runs for the Reds in the first inning.  Okay, it wasn’t a hit, but it wasn’t a bad start.

Rose came up again in the top of the second and hit a line drive back through middle, only for McWilliams to snare it just as the ball appeared to have already passed him.  A few inches to the left or right, or a slower reflex by McWilliams, would have resulted in a single to centerfield and new National League record-holder.  Dang it!

Rose grounded out to the shortstop in the 5th inning and then lined into a double play, third to first, in the 7th inning.  Things were now looking pretty grim for his breaking the record.

By the end of the 7th inning, the game was out of hand for the Reds.  Dale Murphy and Bob Horner of the Braves had each hit home runs in the 5th, as did Barry Bonnell in the 7th.  The Braves scored five more runs in the bottom of the 8th to further secure the victory.  However, the game was running long on time, and I began to worry that I might miss the last bus back to my hotel.

Rose was scheduled to bat again in the top of the ninth, so I rationalized I couldn’t leave the game then.  My strategy became one of leaving my regular seat to search for the stadium exit closest to the bus stop outside the stadium and then watch the final inning in a seat near that exit.  In that way, after Rose batted, I could minimize the amount of time it took to catch the last bus.  Thus, before the top of the 9th inning, I found that exit, with the help of a stadium attendant, and wound up being the only person sitting in centerfield, since most everyone else, except some Rose fans, had pretty much gone home in the blowout game.

Rose was due up in the third spot in the top of the 9th inning.  I was thinking the odds were good that he would finally get the historic hit to keep his streak alive.  Furthermore, there was no additional pressure on the Braves to close out the Reds in a hitless fashion, after banging out 21 hits and 16 runs themselves.  Braves’ relief pitcher, Gene Garber, had already pitched the 7th and 8th innings.  Surely, he had tired somewhat.

Well, Garber had other thoughts about the 9th inning.  Apparently he wanted to finish the game quickly, but not for the same reason as me.  He wound up striking out Junior Kennedy and Vic Correll for the first two outs.  As Rose came up to bat, I was struggling to see well from my centerfield viewpoint.  Regardless, I just wanted him to get that hit.  Garber turned out to be a bulldog on the mound that night and also struck out Rose for the final out of the game.  Thus, the consecutive-game hitting streak had ended, with Rose still tied with Keeler.

I did wind up catching the bus back to my hotel on time.  But it wasn’t any consolation though, as I was truly disappointed in not seeing an historic baseball moment in person.

In 2012, I got an opportunity to meet Pete Rose in person in Las Vegas.  I had understood he spent a lot of days there, signing autographs at a store in a huge shopping mall.  I brought him a complimentary copy of the book I had recently authored, Family Ties:  A Comprehensive Collection of Facts and Trivia About Baseball’s Relatives, since he and his son, Pete Jr., are prominently mentioned in the book.  Despite my gift of the book, he still made me pay $75 for his autograph, and he generally appeared unappreciative of the book.  When I happened to mention that I had been at the game in which he snapped his hitting streak, he was not too interested in discussing the game or the streak.  Consequently, his aloofness affected my opinion of him as a person.

However, I have to acknowledge Rose was indeed the “Hit King,” except for that 0-for-5 night in 1978.