CINCINNATI — The Great American Ball Park scoreboard on Tuesday night revealed, one by one, player by player, each team’s “Franchise Four,” a result of fan voting to determine the most impactful players in each club’s history.
The unveiling of the Cincinnati Reds foursome was, of course, saved for last. Johnny Bench emerged from the National League’s dugout and strolled to the pitcher’s mound. Then Barry Larkin. Then Joe Morgan.
And finally, Pete Rose.
Rose, 74, received the expected, immense standing ovation from the home crowd in his big moment before Major League Baseball’s 86th All-Star Game. Sporting a red sports jacket, Rose waved and joined the trio of Reds Hall of Famers on the field while taking in about 90 seconds of applause.
Rose’s involvement in the pregame festivities was long a topic of conversation. The all-time hits king, who in 1989 accepted a permanent ban from baseball for gambling on the sport, seeks reinstatement to the game. In addition to his taking the field, Rose also was on the set with Fox for its pregame broadcast.
Earlier Tuesday, first-year commissioner Rob Manfred said there is “no change with respect to the process with Pete Rose.” Manfred is expected to meet with Rose later in the summer.
“The review of the original investigatory material is ongoing,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America during its annual All-Star Game meeting. “I frankly was surprised at how much material there was to be reviewed. We’re taking a fresh look at all of that.
“I remain committed to the idea that Mr. Rose deserves an opportunity to tell me, in whatever format he feels most comfortable, whatever he wants me to know about the issue. I’m sure there will be an in-person meeting. I want to schedule it at a time when I’m comfortable I have a good grasp of all the factual material.”
Rose’s moment on Tuesday night preceded the honoring of Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays as baseball’s greatest living players. Koufax, who attended the University of Cincinnati, threw each out a ceremonial first pitch to Bench, the Reds’ all-time great.
Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts were revealed as the Phillies’ “Franchise Four.”
