Pete Rose on the comeback, kinda? It has been very slow, but the logjam appears to be softening under new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, as baseball’s banned hit king has started to make his way into the “official” good graces with baseball. The question from a business standpoint for Rose is, is it too late to cash in?
Rose agreed to the ban in 1989 after a Major League Baseball investigation concluded he bet on his team to win while he was managing the club, and after years of silence “Charlie Hustle” began doing what he always did best, shaking the chains for reinstatement, especially after baseball’s “Steroid Era” came and went with crimes judged by the court of public opinion to be more damaging to the game than what Rose had done. He kept himself around the fringes of the game, doing autograph signings, creating and working on a reality show, finding endorsement deals with companies and brands close to but not directly associated with baseball, and always pinging the establishment for another chance.
Most recently there is the ever-growing world of pay fantasy baseball. Now an accepted and engaged partner with MLB through their deal with Draft Kings, and the constant beat of legalizing gambling on sports overall, which also has made Rose’s case for reinstatement that much more viable. Factor in the passage of time, a new commissioner looking to right some perceived wrongs, and the time for Rose to be back, now in his mid ‘70’s appears to be on the horizon gradually, and of there are no missteps.
Rose had applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met in November 2002 with Commissioner Bud Selig, who never ruled on the application. Rose submitted another application for reinstatement after Manfred succeeded Selig in January, and two recent moves, Fox hiring Rose as a studio analyst this season (although because of the ban, Rose is not allowed in areas of ballparks not open to fans, except with special approval from the commissioner’s office) and this past week MLB saying they will allow Rose to participate in official All-Star events this July in Cincinnati.
So if you are a marketer looking to tie to baseball, do these moves mean you are ready to pull in the all-time hit leader, or at least plan ahead to grab the outspoken star when ready? Well if you are looking to grab a new and younger and more engaged demo, probably not. For all the buzz and luster, Pete Rose is not a name millennials will identify with unless they are probably engaged baseball fans already. The age of 74 and almost 40 years removed from the game does not make Pete Rose hip, engaged or cool. His reinstatement does make him the subject of casual buzz though which will have some kind of factor, but not a huge one. Now if you are in the baseball business, and looking to catch the traditional fan or even an older demo, then maybe Rose is your guy. We love a comeback story, and Pete Rose coming back to baseball might be one of the better comeback stories, and endorsement opportunities, tied to the game later this summer.
So what about the pay fantasy space? Rose has done endorsements for some startups, the latest of which was an app called Sportsbeep, and he has always been in and around the casino world and has spoken out on the issues and opportunities of pay fantasy. If you are a startup in the space do you grab Rose to be your face now? If you are Fan Duel, who lost a big part of the “official” fantasy market when Draft Kings partnered bug time with MLB the past few weeks, do you grab Rose to be part of your family? If you are Draft Kings do you go after Rose to complete and enhance your baseball picture? Does the younger demo that plays pay fantasy even care about Rose? All of which, right now is TBD.
The real value for Rose as long as he is vibrant and healthy will come with Hall of Fame reinstatement. Being a member of The Hall still opens him up for a bigger payday on the memorabilia side as well as probably for more official designations with MLB that can put more dollars in his pocket as well as supplanting his official legacy, and moving him away from being groups with the steroid era and Joe Jackson (whose legacy should also be revisited in Manfred’s time).
Now the official, full-blown reinstatement of Rose us still not here. MLB, never a business to move fast on issues of tradition or violations in its longtime codes, will watch each step carefully and then move accordingly. That may still take years, if not months. But the movement to bring Rose back to baseball is obviously afoot and will generate lots of buzz for the short term for the casual fan, which is a good thing for baseball and its business. Whether it becomes a windfall for Rose, and whether it drives new fans to the game, especially young ones, is probably a non-issue. How it will be seen as impacting the ever-evolving debate over legalized gambling is also not significant. What is significant is that baseball seems to be more open to change and growth outside of the norm than ever before, and this softening of a longtime ban on one of the games brightest, and fallen, stars is a good next step for a sport looking and needing to evolve in the 21st century.
We love a comeback, so c’mon back Pete and enjoy the time back on the field.
