I was doing some early research a few days ago for a post about Pete Rose I’m working on for the middle of the summer when there isn’t a whole lot of sports news, when I came across an interesting picture:
This is the moment when the Charlie Hustle became the Hit King. Behind the plate is then San Diego Padres catcher Bruce Bochy, who would go on to manage the Padres and (currently) the San Francisco Giants. While Bochy was never a star player, he’s remains a recognizable baseball figure some 30 years after this photo was taken.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if Bruce Bochy made it to Cooperstown before Pete Rose? It’s not impossible. While Rose is one of the all time greats, he’s barred from the BBWAA’s Hall of Fame ballot due to getting hit with a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for betting on Major League games when he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. That ban could, in theory get lifted, but there’s no timetable for that to happen. Bochy, meanwhile is the leader in wins among active MLB managers now that Jim Leyland and Davey Johnson have retired, and he’s won three National League Pennants, and his Giants have won two of the last four World Series. I can’t imagine the Veteran’s Committee hesitating a whole lot once he’s eligible for the Hall. If Bochy gets in before Rose, this photo will become a fun piece of trivia for containing only one Hall of Famer.
Dave's Words 