Rest in Peace Pete Rose. With the news of Rose’s passing earlier today, I could not help but think of a very interesting factoid about what actually happened when he broke Ty Cobb’s record for all-time career hits.
This was hiding in plain sight, buried in the middle of a video posted 11 years ago on YouTube.
The late LaMarr Hoyt, who led the American League in wins in both 1982 and 1983 (with the Chicago White Sox), claiming the Cy Young award in the latter season, made a couple of stunning admissions in this Billy Staples “Before the Glory” interview.
Hoyt (who looks here about as different as possible from his playing days) admits that he really wanted to get his place in the history books, and to do so as the pitcher who gave up Rose’s 4,192nd hit.
So he just kept throwing easy meatballs, right down the plate, to Charlie Hustle.
Hoyt (who passed away in 2021), then with the San Diego Padres, even says that he told his catcher, Terry Kennedy, to ask Rose if he wanted to know what pitch was coming.
Rose apparently declined, and drew the collar that night. He broke the record the following evening against Eric Show.
Whether he’s kidding or not, well, he looks and sounds rather convincing. The second big reveal might be more of a joke, but then again if you watch the video, and you see the 1985 All-Star Game MVP’s pitching delivery, well, he is probably serious.
During his Cy Young campaign of ’83, he finished with just 31 walks in 36 games and 260 innings.
Hoyt had just 27 as he entered the final stretch of the season, which according to him, prompted reporters to ask him why he “walked those last four guys.”
His answer was because then he would have finished the season with a BB total that matched his jersey number.
The Columbia, S.C. native was also unaware that had he finished with 27 walks, it would have matched Cy Young himself for fewest allowed in a season, minimum 200 innings pitched.
Again, if he’s joking then it really is a weird thing to joke about.
However, it does explain why he was so motivated to get into the annals of baseball history in 1985 via Pete Rose, having had just missed his opportunity two years prior.
At the time, Hoyt was the best control pitcher the White Sox had seen since Claude “Lefty” Williams.
Coincidentally, Williams is in the baseball history books himself, having recorded more losses, three, than anyone else in a single World Series.
However, he got there by intentionally losing, as he was one of the eight players banned for throwing the World Series in 1919.
(And obviously Pete Rose and the Black Sox will always be historically linked, so this all now comes full circle).
Finally, although the two part interview posted above is close to 20 minutes long, it never once touched upon: what Hoyt did with his life (was doing with himself at that time) once baseball was done with him.
Or how he has made piece with all the serious crimes that he committed in his life, which prematurely ended his baseball career.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.