The Pressure’s On for Pete Rose Jr., Too

Gambling allegations against his father have brightened the spotlight on Pete Rose Jr.’s first minor league baseball season.

“You’re going to have pressure because you’re Pete Rose’s son,” the younger Rose told The Frederick News-Post Wednesday. “I’ve had it since Little League.”

Rose Jr., son of Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, refused to discuss the baseball commissioner’s investigation of his father’s alleged gambling activities. But he labeled stories about him having to go through an agent to call his father misleading.

“There are so many people trying to get in touch with Dad. He is always having his number changed,” Rose said. “I have to call his agent to get his new number.”

Rose’s father and his mother, Karolyn, are divorced.

He was the Baltimore Orioles’ 13th pick in the June 1988 amateur draft. Rose, who attended Oak Hill High School in suburban Cincinnati, is playing this season in the Carolina League with the Frederick Keys, the Orioles’ Class A affiliate.

The 19-year-old third baseman predicted that pressure, especially from the media, would intensify during his first minor league season as the gambling investigation unfolded. He said he planned to concentrate on baseball and hoped his father would get a chance to watch him play.

“Maybe on an off day he might fly in,” Rose said. “I’d love to spend some time with him.”

The father and son spent about 10 days together before spring training at the Reds’ camp in Plant City, Fla.

Rose said that while his father had taught him a lot about baseball, he had rarely seen his son play.

“He never got to see me play because he was always on the road,” Rose said. “That’s the bad part about being a major league player. You don’t get to see your family.”

He said he sometimes seeks baseball advice from his mother instead of his famous father.

“I ask his advice, but I ask my mom’s advice first,” Rose said. “She knows me better and she knows baseball. She’s been around my dad a lot.”

Rose described himself as a team player who planned “to give 110 percent” throughout the season, which begins today on the road against the Durham, N.C., Bulls, a farm team of the Atlanta Braves.

“You know, I like to go out and if it means diving through a wall or doing something for the team, I’m going to do it,” he said. “I’m not an individual player.”