It’s Time to Spruce Up This Hall With a Rose

Ran into Pete Rose at Santa Anita on opening day Friday. Now what are the odds of that? I could guess, but then I’d probably have Pete wanting to bet that I’m wrong.

Turns out the old gambler had a horse running in the last race. Had I known, I would never have taken publicist Steve Brener’s tips and lost all my money. I would have saved it to wager on Rose’s nag. You’d have to figure if his horse was anything like him, it’d dive head first to the finish line to win.

I took Brener to the paddock for the last race so he could see what a horse looks like because it seems every horse he picks to win turns out to have only three legs. Brener worked for the Dodgers back when it wasn’t embarrassing to work for the Dodgers, so he knew Rose from better years/decades gone by.

Rose said he recognized me from TV, but I was quick to tell him ESPN had fired me and I was no longer doing that crummy show. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in my life story and said he had seen me on TVG, the horse racing network. Who knew Rose was such a gambler?

“That [TVG announcer] Frank Lyons sure knows his horses, but I saw where you beat him [in a Breeders’ Cup contest],” Rose said, and what a relief to discover Rose has better things to do with his time than watch ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”

I was surprised to see Rose’s jockey was wearing green and gold without any red. I’d have thought if baseball really wanted to stick it to Rose, they’d have kept him in the red as much as possible to remind everyone what happens to a gambler.

“Those are the colors of William Farish; he put up the $900,000 for the horse,” Rose said. “He’s also an ambassador [to Great Britain].” How’s that for an exacta? As Rose walked away, I yelled after him. “Hey, you’re an ambassador too. For baseball,” and while I was just trying to tease him, I realized later that’s how I still feel.

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ROSE IS 63, and still not in the baseball Hall of Fame. On Jan. 6 the newest inductees will be announced. Two days later, Rose said, he’ll be making controversial headlines.

He has agreed to do a series of exclusive interviews on “Good Morning America,” “Primetime Thursday” and “Nightline” the same day, so what do you want to bet that in a new book to be released earlier that day, “My Prison Without Bars,” Rose is going to finally admit to wagering on baseball while he was manager of the Reds?

If not, ABC is going to be giving us exclusive gibberish.

“Yes, that question of whether he bet on baseball is answered in the book,” said Rick Hill, the book’s author. “We couldn’t have gotten a contract without that.”

The book and its revelations, which I’m guessing have already been passed on to Commissioner Bud Selig, might explain why there has already been talk of reinstating Rose soon.

“I told the truth in the book,” Rose said, “and it’s all going to be on ABC.”

I would have thought TVG would have been a better fit.

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I HAD the good fortune to cover many of Rose’s exploits in baseball. Now I document Alex Cora’s every move.

I was in Shea Stadium on July 24, 1978, and interviewing Rose with hundreds of others after he tied Tommy Holmes’ 37-game hitting streak, and back again the next night to watch him set the National League mark for consecutive games with a hit.

For you Dodger fans, I’ll explain what a hitting streak is later.

I’m not sure I’ve ever dealt with a more accessible, colorful and direct athlete than Rose. In addition to admiring his brand of play, I liked how he always seemed to remain human, while all around him folks tried to treat him like some superhero.

Later we would learn just how human he is, and while there’s no question he had his weaknesses, I have a bigger problem accepting Lawrence Taylor in any kind of Hall of Fame than I do Rose, especially considering the price Rose has already paid for his missteps.

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OK, SO we still have a problem. If Rose is that close to returning to baseball after self-destructing because of gambling’s grip on him, then why is he hanging out at a racetrack? At the very least, it’s not good for appearances.

“George Steinbrenner owns a stable, Joe Torre has horses, and this is legal,” Rose said. “There are 35,000 people here today, and I don’t think I’m the only one making bets today.”

From what I could tell, he was the only one there cashing a winning ticket, but then I was hanging with Brener. He also might have been the only one at the track with Hall of Fame credentials, who had served time in jail and still wants to manage again. If that’s the case, he’s hanging with the wrong kind of horses.

There’s an explanation, of course, and isn’t there always when it comes to gambling gone haywire? He wanted a horse for his daughter to ride, so the ambassador offered to give him a $900,000 race horse with a breathing problem.

A doctor fixed the horse, allowing it to return to the track, which left Rose standing in the winner’s circle with a 20% ownership stake in the horse, posing for pictures after Fort Point won with ease. Then the horse was claimed by another trainer, ending Rose’s role as horse owner.

“Maybe when I’m a manager again and making good money, I’ll buy another one,” he said.

Well, I’m not sure I’d bet on Rose managing again, but I’d like to see Charlie Hustle get the chance to ride off gloriously into the Hall of Fame, the gambling loser ultimately being remembered as a winner, and as the most competitive baseball player of his generation.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.