“In 2022 Pete turned 81 and began a new campaign to be reinstated into MLB. He is on MLB’s ineligible list and The National Baseball Hall of Fame has banned anybody on that list from induction. Following negotiations with Rose and MLB, he signed an agreement accepting his punishment for “conduct not in the best interests of the game” not that he bet on baseball.”

I’m a big fan of baseball, and as anybody who knows me knows I’m a huge Boston Red Sox fan. I bleed Red and white, well we all bleed Red but that is another thing entirely. I was just born when the Cincinnati Reds, known as the “Big Red Machine” won their first World Series in 1975 versus my Boston Red Sox. I followed the career of Pete Rose ever since that time. I always admired his toughness and Hustle as a player. That’s why it makes sense this documentary is called Charlie Hustle: And the Matter of Pete Rose. It deals with a lot about Pete and every aspect of his life and career.

Pete Rose is known as “Charlie Hustle” as the title suggests, but the h”Hit King” is a more apt title he should be known as. He got Charlie Hustle in the old days of his career. The one man he was tied to in his career was Ty Cobb in more ways than one. He ended up breaking his all-time hits record, they both had a bit of an attitude on and off the field. They both were cut from the same cloth if you will. They played the game like it was life or death. They slid hard into every base and ran out ground balls. It was like looking into a mirror in a lot of ways for Rose.

Even though Pete Rose is the hit king he is most notably known as a blemish on his record and that’s been found to have bet on the game of MLB (Major League Baseball). At first, he kept saying he didn’t bet on the games, but he eventually fussed up and admitted to betting on the game he loved, managed, and played for 25 years.  Which disappointed many of the fans of the game. They and I for instance were let down by these allegations and the findings of the MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti and his Investigative lawyer at the time. He ended up going to prison for tax evasion from his gambling, not gambling on baseball or his team.

This documentary goes into every aspect of Pete Rose’s life. That includes his feud with teammate Johnny Bench. His relationship with his wife Karolyn, and his friendship with Tommy Gioiosa, who eventually also spent time in jail for steroids and drug dealing, which placed bets for Pete while he was the manager of the Reds. Also, his son was interviewed for this documentary and he has nothing but positive things to say about his father. Unlike what Pete had to say about his own father. This film is very in-depth from beginning to end.

Like a lot of documentaries this one has talking heads, but mostly it’s Pete being interviewed by the filmmaker. The talking heads include Al Michaels Reds Broadcaster and legendary sportscaster Jay Jaffe writer, Lesley Visser broadcaster, Ted Keef sports illustrated writer, Jon Miller Hall of Fame Broadcaster for the Giants, and Orioles as well as ESPN, Tommy Helms ex-player & teammate of Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt MLB Hall of Famer and teammate of Rose’s, Marty Brennaman Reds Broadcaster, Ron Cey Hall of Fame ex-MLB player, Jeffrey Lenkov his Attorney, Ted Kieth Sports Illustrated writer, John Dowd Special Investigative Attorney, Trent Rosencrants writer for the Athletic, Chad Lowe Actor diehard Reds Fan, Ken Griffey Sr. MLB Legend & Cincinnati Reds great, Pete Rose Jr. Son of Pete Rose ex-minor league player Eduardo Perez ex-Reds player and current ESPN broadcaster and Rose Teammate as well as Tommy Gioiosa to get his side of things.

To balance out all of the talking heads, director Mark Monroe used a lot of archival footage from the news, and various broadcasts of games Rose played in over his 25-year MLB career. There are also a lot of photos that contradict this that are said on camera to the director himself. Catching Rose in lies. Rose adamantly said he doesn’t lie then he admitted to gambling on baseball. So he is his own worst enemy in some cases. The MLB stuff was some of the best stuff as far as I’m concerned. I like revisiting these events in MLB history. They just reminded me of why he was such a great player during his career.

With any film about Pete Rose the question of his induction or lack thereof in the National Baseball Hall of Fame comes up. Every interview that gets accepted or you see on television or otherwise, they ask that question. Inevitably Shoeless Joe Jackson gets brought up, but there are different circumstances that surround these two situations. One is about throwing a World Series game and the other is about betting on baseball and or his team. I look at this situation like this. What Rose did as a player has nothing to do with his gambling as a manager on the Reds once he stopped playing. You can separate those two things in my eyes. Others such as baseball writers and several Commissioners of MLB. It does Rose no good to be inducted after he’s passed away, he’s 81 years old by the way.  This question will forever hang over Rose’s and the game’s heads. How can the all-time hits leader not be allowed into the game he loves a great collective of players. Its own Hall of Fame is beyond blasphemy to me. 

Charlie Hustle: And the Matter of Pete Rose is a very in-depth docu-series. It doesn’t shy away from asking the hard questions of its title recipient.  Many of his friends and family chime in on this man with their opinions. He has lived a great life but sometimes troubled life. His gambling addiction has tarnished his legacy. I will forever remain a staunch believer in him and a fan of his incredible feats on the field. I just feel bad for him for not being allowed into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. With his accomplishments on the field, he deserves it. This film tends to agree with me.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen