HAYES: Rose Jr.'s first season 'a blast' - American Chronicle
Aug. 31--BRISTOL, Va. -- Pete Rose Jr. sat behind the desk in his office at DeVault Stadium on Monday night moments after his Bristol White Sox had dropped a 4-1 decision to the Kingsport Mets in their penultimate game of 2011.
Leaning back in his chair and holding his hands behind his head, the baseball lifer was asked to reflect on his rookie season as a manager.
"It's been a blast," Rose Jr. said. "I just wish we could've won a lot more."
Yes, Rose Jr.'s first season calling the shots will likely be judged on wins and losses -- that's what goes down in the record books -- and most people on the outside looking in would call it a failure.
Bristol entered Tuesday's season finale with just 24 wins and occupied the cellar of the Appalachian League's West Division, a spot the team anchored after a dreadful August.
For a guy whose father was one of the most legendary competitors baseball has ever seen, the 40-plus losses weren't easy to take and had to lead to some sleepless nights.
"That's me," Rose Jr. said. "I want to win. That's what I was taught. But when we look at the guys that got promoted, that's what the goal is all about."
Major League Baseball teams don't draft players to win minor league championships. They draft players who they feel can help them eventually win a World Series.
The Chicago White Sox follow that credo. That's why the entrance to Bristol's clubhouse resembled a revolving door throughout the summer as players came and went.
Kevan Smith, Rangel Ravelo, Jose Ramos, Collin Kuhn, Carlos Sanchez, Dusty Harvard, Mike Schwartz, Sean O'Connell, Bryan Blough, Jason Van Skike and Chris Bassitt all were promoted to higher affiliates at some point.
Drew Thompson, Ross Wilson, Garrett Johnson, Jhonny Nunez, Justin Cassel, Stephen Sauer, Jacob Petricka and Ryan Buch came to town on injury rehabilitation assignments and left before most people noticed.
So in that regard, Rose Jr. had few peers among his fellow Appy League managers. He -- along with hitting coach Greg Briley and pitching coach Larry Owens -- got players ready for the next level.
"It's been a good season for us as a staff as far as getting guys promoted," Rose Jr. said. "That's what we're here to do. ... You've just got to step back and say 'Hey we've got seven or eight guys promoted. Hey, that's a great year.' "
Rose Jr. also brought the fans out to DeVault Stadium. While the Sox didn't shatter any attendance records and still lagged behind most of the other teams in the Appy League in that category, the new skipper was a major attraction.
Since Bristol became a Chicago affiliate in 1995, Chris Cron, Nick Capra, Gary Pellant, R.J. Reynolds, John Orton, Nick Leyva, Jerry Hairston Sr., Bobby Thigpen and Ryan Newman have sat behind the same desk that Rose Jr. now occupies.
None of those became a local celebrity like Rose Jr.
"The people have treated me great," Rose Jr. said. "It's a great place."
Rose Jr. even got a taste of one local custom recently. After his team returned from a noon game in Princeton, W.Va., last Saturday, he found his way to that big automobile race on Volunteer Parkway.
Is he a NASCAR fan?
"I am now," Rose Jr. said.
Rose Jr. is a genuinely nice guy, something that he proved in his first season here.
While his postgame quotes were predictable and usually riddled with cliches, he always took time for the media and had no blow-ups with the local scribes like some BriSox managers have done in the past.
He stopped and signed every autograph from eager fans, young and old alike, before and after games.
While his temper showed at times -- like the time he got ejected by umpire Jimmy Hollingsworth for loudly objecting to his strike zone and after a loss to Kingsport in late-July when he berated his team loudly behind closed doors and then made the position players come back on the field and run the bases several times -- he was mainly a laid back dude.
You could also see that he truly loves the game. For a guy that played 20 years -- almost all of them in the minors -- that passion shines through. Especially when you ask him about his offseason plans.
"Eighteen days off and then instructional league," Rose Jr. said.
thayes@bristolnews.com -- Twitter:@Hayes_BHCSports -- (276) 645-2570
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(c)2011 the Bristol Herald Courier (Bristol, Va.)
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