On Deck For The Big Knock
Rick Reilly
August 19, 1985
In his memorable battle against Ty Cobb and Father Time, Pete Rose, the Reds' player-manager, is bearing down on the 4,192nd hit he so covets
The minute you're born, you start to die.
Pete will get his Big Knock, but he doesn't even need it. We appreciate Pete Rose because Pete Rose politely declined to grow up. Rose still plays a child's game and plays it as though any minute he'll get that dreaded call for supper.
What was it Satchel Paige said? "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" Rose knows his age. He's 13 and the summer never ends.