Ailing Rose Avoids the Harsh Glare of New York

Severe bronchitis and flu-like symptoms kept Pete Rose off the field and out of New York Wednesday.

Perhaps fate still smiles on Rose once in a while.

The Reds manager went directly from Montreal to Cincinnati Wednesday morning so he can undergo medical tests, thus preventing Rose’s first, and perhaps last, official baseball visit to this city.

“He was sick,” Mets Manager Davey Johnson said. “He would have gotten a lot sicker here.”

Sicker, because Pete Rose was guaranteed not to find any safe haven here. Nowhere do the garish lights expose scandal and the scandal-ridden more harshly than in New York. And no one is more scandal-ridden in and around baseball than Pete Rose.

Not Wade Boggs. Not Steve Garvey. Not even Margo.

An investigation into alleged gambling and tax evasion by Rose and associates is being conducted by a federal grand jury as well as Major League Baseball. Speculation about an immanent indictment greets the troubled Rose at every stop.

Those who know Rose well believe the judgment that could come from Commissioner Bart Giamatti is the one Rose must truly fear. Governments may be able to take away Rose’s money, or worse, his freedom. The commissioner can take away Rose’s lifeblood--baseball.

“No one who really knows what the game means to Pete wants to see him out, because he’s doing the only thing he loves to do,” said Ken Griffey, a long-time teammate of Rose’s who now plays for him.

The first hints that Rose defiled baseball, the game that helped make him a household name, by gambling surfaced in February. Baseball, not bound by the notion of a fair and speedy trial, seems in no hurry to quash the rumors or to prove them true.

Rose’s players, coaches and friends insist the manager has juggled the tasks of protecting his name and protecting his team well. When the Reds came to town, sans Rose, they were in first place in the National League West, one game ahead of San Diego with a 14-10 record.

“The team is holding up because you’ve got guys trying to take away some of the pressure from Pete and others, quite frankly, who believe it’s really none of their business,” Griffey said. “And it really isn’t. Our business is on the field. Our business is baseball.”

Wednesday, Reds pitcher Danny Jackson railed against the mass of reporters working the Rose watch. But that was out of character, Griffey said, because Rose was out of town. Before, Griffey explained, “guys knew the pressures of the press is all on Pete. We were being left alone. A lot of guys are playing well because of that.”

How is Rose holding up?

Griffey would not say flatly that Rose, well-known for his self-assured, unflappable air, is unfazed. “Petey’s staying in the games because the coaching staff is keeping him in there,” Griffey said. “The veterans on the bench--Manny Trillo, Joel Youngblood, Davey Collins, me--we know when to get ready. We don’t wait for Pete to tell us. We’re thinking along with him. He’s lucky in that it seems everyone is more than doing their jobs.”

Not that Rose is on the verge of locking up. He, as much as anyone, keeps the younger players loose, says Griffey, gives them a real reason to want to rally around him.

As for Rose being able to rally himself, Griffey said that’s no problem.

“Pete might be worn down by illness, but he’s not going to be worn down by the press,” Griffey said.

Yet, there was a sign last week that a slight erosion may be taking place. Rose, in a rambling diatribe, wondered aloud just how much footage television networks need of him. He has been filmed walking through airports, into ballparks, sitting in dugouts just doing nothing. When Rose lashed out, it may have been just a small crack, but it was there.

As Rose came closer to this town, within close proximity of Giamatti, it was natural to hope there might be a merciful end to this, not only for Rose, but also for baseball itself. Yes, he can be arrogant, condescending and put on an air that he believes fully in his nickname, “Petey Ballgame.” But like him or not, there’s no getting around the fact Rose, a sure Hall of Famer before the scandal, has given a lot to the game and deserves to know what is coming at him.

Unfortunately, learning his fate would not have happened even if he arrived in New York. Giamatti had already dismissed the notion of meeting with Rose, let alone resolving the situation soon. The only relief in sight came in the form of an an announcement by Giamatti’s office Wednesday that its special investigator, John Dowd, is to give Giamatti his long-awaited report next week.

So, on a gray day, baseball’s longest-ongoing freefall from glory continued without its principle player but with the never-ending pall. And it affects more than the Reds because Rose, through two decades, influenced and touched the game’s countless participants.

“I hope for his sake his name is not going to be tainted,” said Mets catcher Gary Carter, once Rose’s teammate in Montreal.

“I categorize Pete Rose as one of the three or four real winners I’ve ever had the privilege to play with,” added Mets coach Bill Robinson, a one-time teammate of Rose’s in Philadelphia.

Robinson, for one, will be sadder if Rose is banished. Will the game?

“Probably for a while,” Robinson said quietly. “Maybe only for one day, who knows? I learned that in 1968, when the greatest player I ever saw retired. For one day, at Yankee Stadium, there were signs: “Bring back Mickey Mantle.” After that, no signs. The game goes on. It’s bigger than any one individual.”

Even Pete Rose.