NBC Sports Philadelphia is doing their best to forget Pete Rose’s explicit appearance on the broadcast.
The MLB’s infamous all-time hits leader was invited to Citizens Bank Park on Sunday to celebrate the Phillies’ 1980 World Series title. He later made an appearance in the Phillies’ broadcast booth aside announcers Tom McCarthy and John Kruk which quickly, and perhaps predictably, went downhill.
Rose joined the booth for the fifth and sixth inning and did not hold back on some foul language despite McCarthy’s best efforts.
“You changed the subject real quick on that loop to right field,” Rose noted to McCarthy after a crude comment.
“I’m just describing the action,” McCarthy responded.
At one point, Rose told a story that involved a “c–k high” fastball and a “no s–t” reaction.
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If you were a fan who missed the game and went back to watch the replay, however, you would have missed Rose’s comments entirely. In fact, you would have missed the entire sixth inning.
The replay showed the Nationals up to bat in the top of the fifth inning, followed by a message reading “Due to time constraints we now move ahead in the following program,” then the top of the seventh inning, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
NBC Philadelphia usually edits down the three hours-plus baseball games to fit a two-hour running time window for replay viewing and it was a probably not a hard choice to cut Rose’s rants in a scoreless frame.
Rose previously did serve as an analyst on Fox Sports from 2015-17. The network cut ties with him for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with an underaged female in the 1970s.
Pete Rose attending Phillies alumni day on Sunday.APA question about that subject set him off on Sunday, when he told a female reporter from the Inquirer that he wouldn’t answer questions about his past.
“Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago, babe,” Rose said.
Rose’s appearance on Sunday has gotten plenty of criticism from within the baseball world. Even Curt Schilling, former Phillies pitcher, called out Rose’s behavior.
“I say this as someone who knows him, who he treated kindly, but the things he says and his lack of self-awareness are unreal,” Schilling tweeted.
