By every account I’ve ever heard, Pete Rose was an absolute scoundrel. This post isn’t about him exactly, rather it’s about different ways to success. I previously posted about (the incomparable) Hank Aaron. Hank was naturally skilled and hardworking, and the result was that he hit the ball very, very far. That is usually good in baseball; hitting homeruns in a well-trodden path to success. Hank Aaron had a career WAR of over 140. In contrast, Pete Rose was not a natural homerun hitter nor a gifted fielder yet ended his playing career with 80 WAR. So how did a man from the westside of Cincinnati without natural homerun skills accumulate over half of Hank Aaron’s WAR (and 10 more WAR than Derek Jeter, just saying)? Pete Rose hit singles. Pete Rose hit doubles. Pete Rose hit nearly as many triples in his career and homeruns. It’s how he earned the nickname “Charlie Hustle”. Pete Rose put the ball in play and ran his ass off. He figured out what he could do better than anyone else and did it. Pete Rose’s method of success wasn’t complicated. In many ways, it was the opposite. And while off the field, Pete Rose was no role model, on the field, we could probably all learn a little more “hustle”.
While I might not have described #14 as a scoundrel, I agree he was no role model off the field. I also agree his on the field “hustle” is worth emulating. While a few are blessed with talents and skills that propel them to preeminence in their field, most of us succeed by diligently honing our natural talents and skills, building new ones and applying them to issues, problems and applications that matter. In short, we do the work, learn from our successes and failures and persevere through personal and professional ups and downs. We “hustle”.