Rose Faces Possible Disciplinary Action by NL for Shoving Umpire

Already facing considerable off-field trouble, Cincinnati Reds Manager Pete Rose now faces possible disciplinary action for an on-field confrontation during which he apparently shoved umpire Joe West.

National League President Bill White is reviewing the incident, which took place Tuesday night just after the Reds had lost to the Chicago Cubs, 5-2, in 12 innings at Riverfront Stadium.

The game ended, and the incident began, when Reds second baseman Ron Oester struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch. Oester started shouting at home plate umpire Bill Hohn, who had angered the Reds in the top of the 12th inning by calling a 2-2 pitch to the Cubs’ Mark Grace a ball. Grace then walked and scored on a three-run home run by Andre Dawson.

West, who along with Hohn had warned the Reds dugout following the pitch to Grace, moved in from his position at first base and became involved in the argument between Oester and Hohn. West allegedly shoved Oester, who was separated from West by Rose and several other Reds players and coaches.

As Rose continued to argue with West, Oester broke away and appeared to reach around Rose in an attempt to get at West. Rose then put his left forearm on West’s chest before being pulled away by Reds coach Jim Lett.

Before the Reds game Wednesday night, Rose told reporters in his office he did not shove West.

“I tried to get him (West) to back away,” he said. “You don’t want him coming (at Oester) like that. Everybody was in a mess right there. I didn’t shove anybody in a blue uniform.

“You shouldn’t even be in here talking to me because Ronnie Oester is the one that got pushed ... I’m not an expert in shoving umpires. I did it one time in my life and I paid dearly for it both in days and money.”

White went to Cincinnati on Wednesday and spoke with West, umpiring crew chief Jerry Crawford, Oester and Rose. White, who was expected to review a videotape of the incident, declined to comment on those discussions and no decision was announced.

Crawford would not discuss the details of the umpires’ report to White, but he said it did not mention Rose. That, however, does not mean White cannot discipline Rose.

Rose and West previously have been disciplined by the NL for their roles in altercations. Rose was suspended for 30 days and fined $10,000 last season for bumping umpire Dave Pallone and subsequently inciting the crowd. West was suspended for three days and fined $300 in 1983 for pushing then Atlanta Braves manager Joe Torre. Torre, who was fined $200, argued with West in the runway to the umpires’ dressing room at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

“I saw Joe (West) shove him (Oester) twice,” Rose said after Tuesday night’s game. “He shoved him harder than I shoved Pallone, I might add, because I was right in the middle of it. We’ll see what happens here now. We all know what happened last year. Let’s see what happens this year.”

National League spokesperson Katy Feeney said Wednesday the punishment Rose received last season from then NL president A. Bartlett Giamatti would be only a “guideline” for White, who was named league president when Giamatti became baseball commissioner.

A court order that is preventing baseball from acting against Rose in connection with allegations he bet on baseball games, including those involving his own team, will not prevent White from taking action against Rose in connection with Tuesday night’s incident, Feeney said.

In developments related to the legal case, federal magistrate Terence Kemp met with attorneys for Rose and baseball in Columbus, Ohio, to work out disagreements and conditions regarding depositions baseball’s attorneys want to take from members of Rose’s defense team and baseball’s examination of alleged betting records now being held by the FBI.

The betting records, alleged to be in Rose’s handwriting and to have Rose’s fingerprints on them, will be examined by experts from each side, said John C. Elam, an attorney for baseball.

Elam said the depositions of Reuven J. Katz and Robert A. Pitcairn Jr., attorneys for Rose, and James Simon, a private investigator for Rose, will be taken next week between Tuesday and Thursday.