SI Vault Podcast: Larry Keith on Pete Rose and his forgotten excellence

On the latest SI Vault podcast, host Ted Keith is joined by his father, former SI baseball writer Larry Keith, to discuss Pete Rose, including why the narrative on Rose was always wrong, why his 1978 hitting streak was so thrilling and what he would have to do to gain admission back into baseball.

At Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati, the return of hometown hero and exiled hit king Pete Rose was the dominant story, but as usual with Rose, it was far from the only story. In fact, the narrative around Rose has always been somewhat off, which is why Sport Illustrated senior editor and SI Vault podcast host Ted Keith welcomed his father, Larry, who covered Rose as an SI reporter, writer and editor throughout much of Charlie Hustle's 23-year career. The two Keiths discussed Rose's reputation as a player, the cloud that has surrounded him for more than 25 years and discussed the behind-the-scenes tale of the older Keith's travels following Rose as the latter embarked on a 44-game hitting streak in 1978 that wound up on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

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