Section B·Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 24,1998
Rose by any other name just is not at all the same
The Associated Press
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — It's a hazy, humid Tuesday night on a cramped college campus, about 15 miles west of Manhattan. A smattering of cheers arises as Pete Rose Jr. strides toward the plate.
Pete Rose Jr., the New Jersey Jackals' left fielder, joined the team five days earlier. He arrived with plenty of baggage.
For Pete Rose Jr., this is his third minor-league team this year, his 10th minor-league season. At 28, he is older than all but a single teammate. And even when the sun disappears this night, Pete Rose Jr. cannot escape the shadow of his dad, Pete Rose Sr.
Pete Rose Jr. walks purposefully from the on-deck circle, digs his left heel deep in the batter's box. He stares out at the left-handed pitcher on the mound. He cocks
his bat behind his head.
The pitch is delivered ... and
fouled straight back.
Strike one.
This is an at-bat that Pete Rose Jr. never anticipated — not 20 years ago, when little Petey lugged bats for his record-setting dad; not 10 years ago, when the Baltimore Orioles drafted him out of high school; certainly not one year ago, when he had his first major league hit with the Cincinnati Reds.
But here he stands in the New Jersey suburbs, refusing to surrender his increasingly unlikely dream of a full season in The Show.
"Pete's not going to go up," said Jackals coach Hank Manning.
sev.
it's an attitude inherited from his old man, who was admittedly a better ballplayer than father.
It's unclear whether Pete Rose Sre
even knows his son is in New Jer-
sey.
Pete Rose JR. wants his game to do his talking, but that's part of the problem: It will never speak as eloquently as his namesake's did.
Still, Pete Rose Jr. pays homage to his father's achievements by writing the number 4,256 in the infield dirt before each game — the number of hits Pete Rose Sr. racked up.
In 1997, after eight years in the minors, Pete Rose Jr. reconsidered his future. His mediocre career average was no qualification for the majors. He was married now, living with his in-laws. The odds were growing larger against him.
Predictably, there was no quit in Pete Rose Jr.
Pete Rose Jr., awaits the second pitch from Keith Breitenstein, a tough left-hander with the Adiromack Lumberjacks. It's in, on his
fists. Pete Rose Jr. fights it off, fouls it straight back.
Striketwo.
He steps out, ignoring the hyperkinetic antics of the Jackals' mascot, then returns to the box. He stares out at Breitenstein, who delivers again.
Outside. Ball one.
His career in jeopardy, Pete Rose Jr. reinvented himself for the 1997 season. He added 25 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-1 frame, and became a power hitter. Pete Rose Jr. hit a career-high 25 home runs; his batting average climbed to .308.
He was called up by the Reds in September and lined his first major league hit as his father sat in the stands at Cinergy Field. Pete Rose Jr. appeared in 11 games with the Reds, with two hits and two walks in 16 at-bats.
But the career year was nearly
the career's end. He was released by the Reds' Indianapolis farm team early this year.
He resurfaced with the Nashville Sounds in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization but was released in August. Manning quickly put in a phone call and issued an invitation.
Pete Rose Jr. joined the Jackals in Lynn, Mass. He hoped to quietly finish out the season and set himself up for next year. But a Jackals press release trumpeted the addition of "the son of major league baseball's all-time hit leader, Pete Rose."
In the past, Pete Rose Jr. had worn his dad's retired No. 14. But here, in New Jersey, he's wearing No. 29.
He'd rather not say. In fact, he'd rather not say anything. Pete Rose Jr. is turning down all interview
Why the change?
requests.
Pete Rose Jr., with a 1-2 count, takes a hard cut. The ball rises high into the night sky — a major-league pop-up headed toward a minor-league third baseman. The fielder settles easily beneath the routine out.
Routine? Never. Not for Pete Rose Jr.
Rose sprints from the batter's box as if the hellhound driving him this past decade is right on his heels. He takes a hard turn, drives toward second base.
"He hustles like his old man," says a voice in the crowd.
As the ball comes down, Pete Rose Jr. pulls up, Charlie Hustle's kid has strained a muscle in his foot. He will miss the next week.
'Husker receiver aims to beat past
Pete Rose Jr. hops off the field on one leg, disappearing into a concrete tunnel behind home plate.
Sophomore says 'miracle catch' was only beginning
The Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. — Matt Davison wants to be more than a one-catch wonder.
As he enters his sophomore season at Nebraska, the wide receiver hopes to put his miracle catch against Missouri behind him and become the Cornhuskers' go-to guy when the rare pass pass is called.
He said he knew it wouldn't be easy
"That play put me on the map, it turned my life around," Davison said. "Everywhere I go, people recognize me and know I was the guy who made the catch, but I don't want it to define my career. I have great expectations for myself."
Davison's final-second, game-tying touchdown grab of a tipped Scott Frost pass helped the "Huskers defeat the Tigers 45-38 last year. The victory propelled Nebraska to a perfect record and a shared national title with Michigan in coach Tom Osborne's final season.
New coach Frank Solich was upstairs in the coaches' booth watching the final seconds unfold. He had a bird's eye view of the proceedings.
Missouri led 38-31 and Nebraska had the ball at its 29-yard line with no timeouts and 62 seconds remaining. Frost threw outside and found outside receivers, hitting passes of 27, 13, 8 and 7 yards before it was down and 10 from the Tigers' 12-yard line with time for one more play.
The play was a double slant, and Frost saw Shevin Wiggins streaking into the end zone. Frost's pass deflected off Wiggins' foot. Just as it was about to hit the ground, which would have given the Tigers a monumental upset, Davison dived and pulled the ball in for the touchdown.
"After a second or two of wondering, it was instant excitement," Solich said. "All of us were hugging and patting each other on the back. Call it a miracle or whatever, but they made it happen. It was a tremendously exhausting game."
The overtime was simple: Frost scored on a 12-yard run, and the Tigers were stopped on four plays.
"That was a great experience for me."
"Everywhere I go,people recognize me and know I was the guy who made the catch, but I don't want it to define my career."
Matt Davison Nebraska wide receiver
said Davison, who caught 11 passes for 232 yards and that one touchdown. "I just need to stay levelheaded about it, but that won't be too hard — I've got an older brother, Travis, who won't let me get too cocky."
Davison enters the season as the No. 2 wide receiver behind Kenny Cheatham.
"To us, the play's history," Solich said. "As good as it was, it's done. It gone. That play can't win us any more ball games. Matt knows that and rest of our club has always been that way. We never dwelled on past games or past plays and that's one reason we've been able to win so consistently. We've moved on."
St. Louis OKs McGwire's use of muscle-enhancer
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — The St. Louis Cardinals said yesterday that they didn't object to Mark McGwire's use of androstenedione, a muscle-enhancing pill legal in baseball but banned in the NFL and NCAA.
The Associated Press reported last week that McGwire, who is chasing Roger Maris' home run record, has used the testosterone-producing pill for more than a year. He also uses Creatine, an over-the-counter muscle builder.
Androstenedione, called "andro," raises levels of the male hormone, which builds lean muscle mass and promotes recovery after injury.
In a statement distributed during yesterday's game in Pittsburgh, the cardinals' medical staff disputed that androstenedione is a steroid.
"Androstenedione is a natural substance, which is a natural precursor
product of testosterone," the release said. "It has no proven anabolic steroid effect nor significant side effects. It contains no testosterone. It stimulates slight increase in one's natural testosterone levels for a short period of time (one hour). Taken approximately one hour before workouts, it may make one's workout more efficient. Due to current research that locks documentary evidence of any adverse side effects, the Cardinals' medical staff cannot object to Mark's choice to use this legal and over-the-counter supplement."
McGwire said Saturday he wouldn't jeopardize his health by using an unsafe product and has been assured that androstenedione isn't harmful.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with it," he said. "It's legal. I've been with my nutrition company since 1992 and they're not going to give me bad stuff. I'm not worried about it a bit."
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