Danielle Solzman
Charlie Hustle & The Matter Of Pete Rose is a new four-part documentary series about the baseball hit king, premiering on HBO and Max. Director Mark Monroe and company follow Rose starting in 2022 as he seeks to bid for reinstatement in Major League Baseball. Rose has been banned since then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti laid down the gauntlet in 1989 following the Dowd Report.
At the time of his 1989 ban, Rose’s name was going to appear on the BBWAA ballot for the Class of 1992. However, the National Baseball Hall of Fame made the decision to change their rules in 1991. As a result, no players on MLB’s permanently ineligible list would ever join the Hall. Since the Hall’s 1936 creation, another notable name missing is Shoeless Joe Jackson. He is forever ineligible from baseball due to his association with the Black Sox Scandal. He professed innocence for the rest of his life but publication of the trial transcripts sheds new light, including comments from his wife. But I digress.
Charlie Hustle & The Matter Of Pete Rose arrives on the scene shortly after the March 2024 publication of Keith O’Brien’s new book, which is being hailed as the definitive biography of Rose, Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball. Everyone has their opinion on Pete Rose and whether he belongs in Cooperstown but Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose is almost certainly not going to change anybody’s mind. If an induction does come down the line, it won’t be until after his death.
To read the rest of my review, please visit Dugout Dirt.
DIRECTOR: Mark Monroe
FEATURING: Pete Rose, Pete Rose Jr., Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey Sr., Tommy Helms, Eduardo Perez, Ron Cey, Al Michaels, Lesley Visser, Marty Brennaman, Jon Miller, Chad Lowe, Larry Keith, Ted Keith, C. Trent Rosecrans, Jay Jaffe
