Book Tells of Rose’s Medical Problems

Defiant, belligerent and only occasionally apologetic, Pete Rose blames his accusers and his medical conditions for the problems that got him kicked out of baseball.

Rose spills his thoughts in his autobiography, “Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,” released today by Rodale Inc.

The 322-page book, in which Rose admits he gambled on the Cincinnati Reds while managing the team in the late 1980s, alternates between apologies for his wrongs and the aggressiveness Rose showed during a 24-season major league career.

Rose writes he has had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Behavior, which he says he got from his mother, and the book contains several quotes from a doctor about the effects.

He repeats that he still loves to gamble legally at racetracks, and describes himself as “grumpy, short-tempered and cold-hearted.”

He also talks about the emotional moment when he faced his family before going to prison for income-tax evasion and “humiliating body searches” in prison. He recounts anecdotes of his career such as taking an umpire to dinner after he was ejected from a game and makes a few puerile jokes.

He also compares his compulsive gambling to the behavior of former President Clinton, actors Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder, and blames former Red manager Jack McKeon and general manager Jim Bowden for not giving Pete Rose Jr. enough of a chance when he played for Cincinnati in 1997.

He says that in prison, he was given identification number 01832-061.

“I never thought I’d be wearing anything other than No. 14 on my back,” Rose wrote, adding that guards “couldn’t help but gawk at the sight of Charlie Hustle in lockdown.”