Pete Rose Talks About Betting On Baseball | David Letterman — Transcript

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1. 0:00thanks for being on the program you look  tremendous you're keeping yourself in
2. 0:03pretty good shape huh doing all right what's  this most stuff oh I'm just making a joke uh
3. 0:08let's talk about the Big Red Machine Man  there was that was a tremendous baseball
4. 0:13operation wasn't it I think the bed I like to  sit here and tell you the Big Red Machine was
5. 0:17the greatest team ever but uh I think what we  were Dave is the most entertaining team ever
6. 0:22most entertaining in what sense did you find  it Well we had speed we had defense we had
7. 0:26daring base runners we had white stars we had  black stars we had Spanish stars and we had a
8. 0:31flamboyant manager yeah uh Sparky Anderson was  tremendous wasn't he he was the best absolutely
9. 0:36and then he had of course Johnny Bench uh Joe Joe  Morgan Tony Perez Davey concepion uh Tommy Helms
10. 0:44on and on and on and on Bobby Tolen K Griff  oh that's right K griffor Foster who we set
11. 0:48to the Mets yeah what a what a tremendous I got  a question who's got worse hair me you or Donald
12. 0:52Trump woo
13. 1:02no I'm right I I would say I got to be  probably at least Donald Trump's got a
14. 1:06lot of it I don't have much of it I think I  you sure I mean it's all forward yeah I don't
15. 1:11know uh I think you're looking pretty good  I don't know what to do with mine anymore
16. 1:14I I give up uh do you still watch baseball  you like it yeah I watch about three games
17. 1:19a day I live in California and you know of  course the East game start at four and the
18. 1:23Midwest at five and the West Coast games at  seven so it still excites you as a fan right
19. 1:28yeah yeah I I watch the Reds every day and and  watch the Dodgers at night I know pretty much
20. 1:33about baseball what do you want to know well  first of all let's take a look at the playoffs
21. 1:37there beginning this week who do you like  you sound like you're betting on baseball
22. 1:41yeah you know baseball is going to hate  me the two teams I like is San Diego and
23. 1:54Minnesota uhhuh and I I I like I like the  Yankees until they lost Randy Johnson I
24. 1:59like the Mets who've had a fantastic year  until they lost Martinez right uh St Louis
25. 2:04is going into the playoffs playing as  bad as you could play uh Detroit I I
26. 2:09don't think they have the experience so  you know I don't think baseball wants to
27. 2:13see those two teams in the finals they like  to see La and the course thank you sure now
28. 2:17uh you mentioned the reference me betting on  baseball do you still the wager on baseball
29. 2:21games honestly I can't cuz I know too  damn much about it you know too much about
30. 2:30would be fair but you you
31. 2:32uh
32. 2:39now how come we can't see the audience  is there anybody out there I can't see
33. 2:48they're out there they're out there they're fine
34. 2:59uh but but you you you did wager on baseball  when you were a manager did you ever wager when
35. 3:04you were a player no never never as a player just  and and do you gamble at all anymore uh I work 15
36. 3:10days a month in Vegas at the form shops at the  field and dream store uh I have a place about
37. 3:1510 10 miles from downtown and no I'm not a casino  type Gambler yeah yeah anything like horses or uh
38. 3:22I well when when the horse track runs on Friday  night at Hollywood Park which is about four times
39. 3:26a year because I work every day from 12:00 to 6:00  mhm and it's unbelievable it's just I sit there
40. 3:32and take pictures with Grandma and little babies  and if you want to take a picture you want to get
41. 3:36an autograph and there's no City like Vegas I know  New York's a great City but there's no last year
42. 3:4243 million people visited Las Vegas W and I just  want 40 million of them to buy autographs yeah and
43. 3:50what was what was the deal when you were uh you  were autographing baseballs that said I'm sorry
44. 3:54I bet on baseball Pete Rose what was the story  behind that well it's a pretty true statement
45. 3:58though if you want to know the truth uh about 15  months ago I signed some balls for a friend of
46. 4:03mine in Cooperstown who was going to sit on them  for like 10 or 12 years and then he give them uh
47. 4:08to he split him with his partner and his partner  give 30 to a guy who give him the Barry hoer you
48. 4:13Barry tremendous sports memorabilia Million  worth and all of a sudden week and a half ago
49. 4:19or so the 30 balls end up on an auction and I'm  saying wait a minute you know no one's got paid
50. 4:24for these balls why should these guys make3 or  $5,000 a ball so we decided to put put the balls
51. 4:30uh if that's what the fans want on pet rose.com  or sell them at all the field of dream stores
52. 4:35when you I sign one the day I'm sorry I shot JFK  well no Pete no that's um wait this is kind of
53. 4:43unusual I really didn't I mean it's a joke yeah  I was in Fort Knox that day I wasn't in Dallas
54. 4:54regardless of what you read um I was here about  a what a week and a half ago I actually come in
55. 5:01to go to Long Island to watch my son play baseball  he was playing against the Ducks that's the Long
56. 5:05Island Ducks he played for Bridgeport and I get  up on money and I pick I go down for breakfast
57. 5:10and I see the front page of the paper you got  it no we don't have it we had it we had it a
58. 5:14minute ago my whole my whole face is on the front  page I thought I died no no and everybody every
59. 5:21president of every important country in the world  is five block down the street from at the UN and
60. 5:25I'm on the cover of this paper because I signed a  Baseball 14 months ago I don't get it do you there
61. 5:31it is right there right here for look at that that  why didn't they put the president of Iran on there
62. 5:36the president president of Iraq or Pakistan  well Pete you raised a fascinating Point um
63. 5:45now when you were baseball baseball is a a  grueling game and it seems like every year
64. 5:55the games get longer like an average game now  seems to be between three and a half four hours
65. 5:59easy you play 162 of them a year you get your  playoffs you get your spring training when you
66. 6:04when you were playing did you other players use  any performance enhancing drugs no we we we got
67. 6:09high on just playing the game of baseball you  know let me let me explain something why I think
68. 6:13the games are so long today because every half  inning has like 90 to a minute and 20 worth of
69. 6:19commercials right right and obviously the the  the game's going to be longer than American
70. 6:23League because you got an extra hitter and if  you have an extra hitter which is a DH you're
71. 6:27going to score more runs okay who's your MVP  in the National League you're asking me yes
72. 6:34no yes sir I don't know you don't know no  well it's got to be Ryan Howard doesn't
73. 6:43it guy H 59 home yeah and you know and I'm  shorter some Albert P's fans out there he's
74. 6:51had a wonderful year sure um we'll give him the  the Spanish MVP now listen Pete let's get back
75. 6:59to the uh how about the am League MVP I'm want to  interview you no I don't I don't see I don't know
76. 7:05much about baseball at all anymore there was  a time when I knew everything and now I just
77. 7:09I just don't what happened well I I found that  the games sometimes get a little dull four and
78. 7:15a half hours you're watching the wrong team now  um when when I was a younger and the the word was
79. 7:23that the players used Greenies what were Greenies  do you remember those were those around Greenies
80. 7:28were uh nothing more than diant pills mhm and  they they were stimulant to to help get you
81. 7:33I don't think I don't think Greenies would ever  help you do anything um you know I took Greenies
82. 7:38before in spring training only because I tried to  lose some weight see nowadays guys go to spring
83. 7:43training 100% ready to go and I would recommend  that to any young players trying to make the team
84. 7:48but but back when I played you might be 5 to  eight pounds overweight and you want to go to
85. 7:53spring training you work up such an appetite that  you just take a something to curve your appetite
86. 7:58what it is it's not going to help you play any  better so so it never helped you kind of ward
87. 8:02off fatigue late season double not like steroids  if I took steroids I'd have got 5,000 damn hits
88. 8:08yeah oh golly and and is that the kind  of thing you might have done if they were
89. 8:19available would you might have considered  taking I don't know I don't I don't want
90. 8:22to put anything in my body it's going  to ruin my uh liver or something like
91. 8:25that not not for the sake of making some money  yeah but if somebody came to you and said you
92. 8:29know if if we're careful with this and we manage  it thoughtfully it can help you prolong your
93. 8:33career it can help you recover from injuries  and it might also improve your performance with
94. 8:37no health risk would you you probably would  have done that right honestly that's a hor
95. 8:40question that's why I'm
96. 8:49here I don't have I don't have an answer  for that because that never happened so I
97. 8:56can't really answer that question and your  relationship with baseball now is there's
98. 8:59no chance you'll get to the hall of fam still some  chance don't ever say no in America I mean I had
99. 9:03a very successful uh well not successful but  an entertaining breakfast when I was in town a
100. 9:08weekend half ago with the president of baseball  who's a wonderful guy Bob dupe and uh we talked
101. 9:14about baseball and just be two fans talking over  breakfast with so still might happen come in this
102. 9:19America man you got to get a second chance of and  but but but currently your relationship with Major
103. 9:24League Baseball is you are welcome you are not  welcome I'm not I'm not allowed to do anything
104. 9:29anything really yeah except watch games yeah but  you know Believe It or Not Dave I think I'm the
105. 9:34best ambassador of baseball has because like I  said 15 days I mean like like like right here I'm
106. 9:44night for the playoffs I'm here talking positive  about the game of baseball I see thousands of
107. 9:49fans every week and I never badmouth the game of  baseball because I'm concerned with the game of
108. 9:53baseball it's uh it was very very good to me and  I want it to be good for my son and his son and
109. 9:59and uh you know baseball prayers have  to understand that the fans are the most
110. 10:04important thing it's just like viewers right  okay all you want is viewers right and all
111. 10:09baseball players you want you know it drives me  crazy when you turn a game on and say Gees it's
112. 10:14a great night to paint the seats you know  that's right I mean the seats are for one
113. 10:21reason okay for asses and with that ladies and  gentlemen all my best feet thank you very much
114. 10:29good to see you again see Pete Rose  we'll be right back with Roy Wood Jr