Pete Rose is returning to baseball….sort of.
On Saturday afternoon, it was announced that Fox Sports has hired Pete Rose as an MLB anaylist for their pregame and post game shows.
In the press release, Rose said “I enjoy talking baseball, and that’s what this is all about. Enjoying the game of baseball, sitting in the green room watching two or three games, getting on TV and talking about it. It’s right up my alley, I think…. I’m just trying to give back to baseball. Hopefully people will watch and I’ll make some good points that will help them understand the game more.”
This could be a big win – win for both sides. For Rose, if he’s a good analyst, this could help his public image and could as well gain support for him trying to undo his lifetime ban from the MLB. For Fox, they signed Rose to hopefully be their Charles Barkley. This move could also help Fox with their ratings. Fox, who in moved the majority of their MLB coverage from Fox to Fox Sports 1, took a big hit in the ratings in 2014, with some games hitting a 0.2 demo rating. (I would love to hear what Rose has to say on Baseball.) But if Rose, doesn’t work out, it won’t be a big hit to Fox. This is a small gamble, big reward.
Pete Rose hasn’t been schedule to make his television debut yet, but when he does, the fans of baseball will be eagerly waiting to see him, in what hopefully will be something great for both parties.