Also coming: The game's most famous outcast.
It's actually a 2-for-1 on Tuesday, when Pete Rose stops by the Washington Wild Things game at Consol Energy Park. The town once known as "Little Washington" will never seem smaller than it will on Tuesday.
Rose is making a promotional stop, something he's allowed to do since the Wild Things are an independent league not affiliated with Major League Baseball. He'll spend a little time on the field, serving an inning as an "honorary coach" for the Wild Things, who play the Lake Erie Crushers.
The Wild Things are the lowest rung of professional baseball, a catch-all for guys who have washed out of affiliated baseball but still harbor some hope of getting back. That happens, but not often.
Ticket prices at that level are low, but the Wild Things are offering a $100 VIP package that includes a meet and greet with Rose and a photo opportunity with him. That seems like a pretty expensive selfie, but the customer will decide that.
This booking is a publicity bonanza for the Wild Things, who usually don't get a lot of attention. Rose signed a document agreeing to a lifetime ban from MLB 26 years ago, and he was back in the headlines again last week.
ESPN came into possession of a notebook that documented Rose's $2,000 per game bets on MLB. It's not news that he bet on baseball -- he admitted to that after 11 years of denials because it was his hook to sell a confessional book.
The new angle here is that Rose was betting in 1986, when he was still an active player. He has always denied that he wagered on games when he was playing. Somehow he thinks his gambling is less of a violation if it was done while he was a manager.
The evidence seems to show that Rose never bet on his team to lose, and some people have the misguided notion that lessens his sin. It doesn't. Gambling on baseball games is prohibited, and one of the reasons is spelled out in his trail of losses.
It's possible for the bettor to wind up in significant debt to bookies who are tied to organized crime. That's a scary scenario for any sports league.
It's probably no coincidence this news came out just when it seemed possible there was the slightest chance MLB might relent at least a little on Rose's penalty. There's a new commissioner, Rob Manfred. The All-Star game is in Cincinnati. Public sentiment has long been in Rose's favor, more so after the steroid users shredded the record book.
But it appears now the door is slammed again, and Rose has used up his last chance to have any relationship with MLB.
No doubt someone will take kids to the Wild Things game on Tuesday and tell them how Rose's Reds and Phillies were bitter rivals of the Pirates a generation ago. The confused kids will only see a 74-year-old man wobbling on bad knees and wearing a cap to cover his bald spot.
The Hit King is an indy league touring attraction now, the role that Max Patkin and the San Diego Chicken used to fill. It's a one-nighter designed to help a struggling franchise pop a crowd on a slow weeknight. If all goes well, increased concession sales will make it pay off.
The Wild Things advise that autograph tickets are available (no price listed), but that Rose will only sign Wild Things merchandise. The news release warns: "No Cincinnati Reds or other MLB licensed merchandise will be permitted for the autograph session."
So if you've always wanted Rose's signature on a Frontier League baseball, here's your chance.
There's a caveat for coverage, too, per the release: "Wild Things officials are currently working with Pete Rose's representatives regarding how and when he will be available to media. It is our understanding he will not discuss MLB, the Cincinnati Reds, or any of the information that has been in the news recently."
So what that does leave for discussion? Bruce Jenner's transition to Caitlyn? The NHL draft? The weather?
The Wild Things report tickets are still available.
That's Tuesday night. Step right up. It's the saddest story you'll ever see.
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