CINCINNATI (AP) – Pete Rose is not allowed to christen the Cincinnati Reds’ new ballpark, but memories of baseball’s career hits leader are all over the place.
His former team wouldn’t have it any other way.
When they drew up plans for Great American Ball Park, the Reds made the past their priority. Unlike sterile Cinergy Field, the new place is filled with the history of baseball’s first professional franchise.
Front and center is Rose.
“About the only place you won’t see him will be with the retired numbers,” chief operating officer John Allen said. “We did what we could. He earned it. That’s the right thing to do.”
Rose’s lifetime ban prevents him from participating in the opening-day ceremonies for Great American, just as it kept him away from last September’s closing of Cinergy Field.
He may be an outcast to baseball, but his legacy is well documented in the 42,000-seat ballpark.
-Rose sits in the first row of a Big Red Machine mosaic on a lower concourse, hands perched on knees, eyes fixed straight ahead.
-A huge photograph of the bat and the ball he used for hit No. 4,192 adorns the back of the scoreboard in left field, a reminder of the hit king’s most memorable moment.
-The lounge for the club-seat patrons is named “Club 4,192,” a tribute of his record-breaking single on Sept. 11, 1985.
-Next year, a rose garden outside the ballpark will honor the spot where the hit landed. He’ll also be included in the team’s Hall of Fame when it opens in 2004.
-One of his favorite lines, “I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to keep playing baseball,” is included in a stream of Reds’ quotes along another concourse.
Cincinnati’s most famous and most infamous baseball figure is everywhere.
“It’s very clear that we can honor our history and the great moments in the franchise, so there’s no uneasiness in that perspective,” Allen said.
It’s what the fans and players wanted.
Although a lot of baseball history was made next door at Riverfront/Cinergy Field, there were few reminders in the multipurpose stadium. The most distinctive part of the new place is its willingness to remember.
“It’s great, not just for the fans to get into the history, but for a lot of players to find out about the history of the Reds,” pitcher Danny Graves said. “When you play baseball, you’re always thinking of ‘back then.’ All of the other stadiums for all of the new teams, they don’t have ‘back then.”‘
This one revels in it.
The Reds’ administration building is topped with an illuminated strip that says, “Rounding Third and Heading for Home,” broadcaster Joe Nuxhall’s trademark signoff.
The main entrance includes a one-acre “Crosley Terrace” with large bronze statues honoring players from the Crosley Field era. A replica of Crosley’s old-fashioned Longines clock rests atop the state-of-the-art scoreboard in left field.
Retired numbers of famous Reds players – Rose’s 14 isn’t yet included – stand out on the facade behind home plate.
From the numbers of the suites to the names of the concession stands, the club’s history is foremost.
“I’m glad they decided to do that – pay homage to the trailblazers,” said shortstop Barry Larkin, who like Rose is a Cincinnati native. “It’s nice to have a baseball-only stadium dedicated to the Reds. It’s a good thing for the city.”
It’s the most distinctive thing about the ballpark, which has no gimmicks that would affect the game.
The right field wall is 8 feet high and 325 feet away, the shortest distance baseball would allow. The 8-foot wall in center is 404 feet away, the same as at Riverfront, and the 12-foot wall in left is 328 feet away, the same as at Crosley.
There’s no oversized wall, no strange outfield dimension, nothing odd in the field of play.
“This is a baseball town, and we truly felt we wanted a baseball field that was fair,” Allen said.
The seats behind home are closer to the plate than the pitcher’s mound.
, making it tougher for runners to advance on a wild pitch or passed ball. A black building with nonreflective windows serves as a party room and a unique batter’s eye – the backdrop in center.
Otherwise, it’s just a baseball field.
“It won’t be really quirky,” Larkin said. “That’s very consistent with how conservative Cincinnati is, which is good. Traditionally, we don’t have spectacular this-or-that. It’s just show up and play and get after it the way it’s supposed to be done.”
There’s a gap in the stands by the third-base side that opens a view to downtown. There are bleachers in left field and an uncovered sun/moon deck in right.
And there’s all of that history woven into the place.
“We didn’t want Great American Ball Park to be another cookie-cutter 10 years down the road,” Allen said. “I didn’t want ours to be just like somebody else’s. We wanted it to be distinctly different so that when you come into this ballpark, you know you’re in Cincinnati. We think we’ve accomplished that.”
The job now is to start making new history.
“I’m looking forward to opening it up and filling it up ever night,” Larkin said. “And hopefully, we can give them a reason to come back.”
AP-ES-03-28-03 1650EST
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