‘That’s the goat’: Pete Rose hails Aaron Judge before the Yankees star puts on a show in Cincinnati
‘That’s the Goat’: Pete Rose greets Aaron Judge before the Yankees star puts on a show for the ‘Hit King’ in New York’s 7-4 victory in Cincinnati
- The reigning AL MVP had a go-ahead single in the 10th inning in Saturday’s W
- Aaron Judge is hitting .378 with seven home runs since returning from injury on May 9
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MLB icons past and present gathered to meet in Cincinnati ahead of the Yankees’ win in the Midwest.
Judge made sure to salute the major league’s all-time pregame leader and promised to put on a show.
“If the Hit King is here, I have to put some hits there; you know that,” Judge told the former Reds star. After their interaction, Rose said, “That’s the GOAT.”
The reigning AL MVP had a go-ahead single in the 10th inning for his fourth hit of the game, as the Yankees defeated the Reds 7–4.
Judge also had a runscoring single against the left field fence in the third inning as part of a 4-for-4 afternoon with three RBIs.
Two of the baseball greats took time to chat pregame Saturday before NY’s victory
Judge helped steer NYY to a 7-4 victory with four hits — including a go-ahead single in the 10th
The 31-year-old is batting .378 with seven home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1,402 OPS in 11 games since returning from the injured list on May 9.
Rose, who retired in 1986 as baseball’s all-time leader in hits, was permanently banned by the late Commissioner A.
Bartlett Giamatti discovered after an investigation that he had illegally placed bets with bookmakers on MLB games in the late 1980s while working as a manager of the Reds.
Former Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose stands next to a statue outside Great American Ball Park during a dedication ceremony prior to a game against the LA Dodgers on June 17, 2017
Although Rose previously denied gambling, in 2004 he confessed to betting on Cincinnati games while leading the team, insisting he never bet against the Reds.
His critics have argued that this is irrelevant as he could potentially be resting his best relief pitchers when he wasn’t gambling with the team, making the Reds less competitive on those nights.
Rose’s case for anchoring is pretty clear: Baseball’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), singles (3,215), games played (3,562), and at bats (14,053), the Cincinnati native won a pair of World Series with the Reds, another with the Phillies, while batting .303 for his career.
A 17-time All-Star, Rose was also the 1973 National League MVP, the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, and the 1975 World Series MVP.