Pete Rose Has Every Right to Call Out Josh Donaldson's Toughness

by Julian Spivey
Baseball hit king and Fox Sports 1 commentator Pete Rose ruffled a bunch of feathers on Thursday, Oct. 8 during his analysis of game one of the American League Division Series (ALDS) between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers, a game which the Rangers won 5-3, when he questioned the toughness of Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.

Donaldson had exited the game shortly after taking a Rougned Odor knee to his head in the fourth inning during a hard slide in which he broke up an attempted double play. Donaldson was tested for a concussion after exiting the game and luckily for the Blue Jays he does not have one.

Rose said: “I just don’t understand. I mean, does everybody know what we’re playing for now? I mean, you get a tweak and you got to leave the game. You get a knee on the head and you’ve got a helmet on and you got to leave the game to go take a test that you pass. I mean, ‘cause you’re a little light-headed? I got light-headed how many times in my career. I still went out there and played. I guess it’s just different from when I played to when they’re playing today, Frank [Thomas]. I can’t see you sliding into second there and leaving the game. I really can’t. And this guy is the MVP.”

Rose was immediately called out by fans and especially media within the game for his harsh, old school ways.

ESPN journalist Keith Law tweeted a couple of different things after Rose’s analysis, “Come on. Is anyone surprised that Pete Rose missed the cut for Mensa?” and the incredibly harsh “When [MLB Commissioner Rob] Manfred rules on Rose’s case this winter I hope he bans Pete from the entire planet.”

I guess a should-be hall of famer who played more than 20 years in the game and amassed more hits than anybody in the 150-year history of this game has no right to an opinion, but a baseball scribe does?

I’m a fan of precaution when it comes to athletes putting themselves in danger, but I’ve got to say I agree completely with Rose’s analysis. If this was a regular season game there would be no reason to call out Donaldson for leaving the ballgame, but this is the playoffs and he left a game before the midway point that was very tight and his team would go on to lose. I don’t believe you can judge everything you see in sports by the eye test, but the hit he took to the head (which was almost completely to his protective helmet) didn’t look that rough.

Fellow FS1 baseball analyst Raul Ibanez, who just retired last season, did make a good point on the broadcast after Rose called out Donaldson when he said that sometimes players don’t get to make the decision on whether or not they come out of the ballgame in a situation where a concussion might have occurred. The protocols set forth by the sport might have enforced Donaldson to leave the game, possibly against his will, but it seems a little more common sense should be used in these situations.

Rose was just reacting to the way the game has changed when it comes to toughness. Rose played in the supremely tough ‘60s and ‘70s and might have been the toughest sonuvabitch in the entire game. He is, after all, the man who took out the opposing team’s catcher with a takeout lunge in an exhibition All Star game.

Rose played the game hard 100 percent of the time and saw no repercussions from it. He never missed more than 30 games in any season until he reached his 40s and led the league in games played five different times, including at the age of 41 when he played in all 162 games that season. He played in at least 145 games in 19 different seasons and, in fact, played in more Major League Baseball games than any player in the history of the game.

This is all to say that one of the toughest men to ever play this great game has every right to call out a player for a perceived lack of toughness. If Rose can’t do that, then who the hell can?

The times have changed in baseball and sports in general it seems. That’s not all bad. Sports should look out for the safety of the athletes. But, athletes also need to have the ability to play in games as important as the one on Thursday that put the Blue Jays in a one game deficit in a five game series.

Rose is right in saying Donaldson is probably the league’s MVP. The Blue Jays desperately could’ve used him at the plate a couple of more times in that game. This might be controversial, but I’ll agree with Pete Rose on this one. Baseball needs a few tough sons-of-bitches like him. Donaldson should’ve toughed it out on Thursday. 

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