- Ken Griffey, Jr. - Jim "Jimmy V" Valvano
- Shaquille O'Neal - Pat Summitt
- Jerry Rice - Tony Dungy
After taking a week off, to evaluate "Wall of Fame" candidates, Boomer's back to induct another player and coach in this weeks installment of Boomer's Wall of Fame Wednesday.
First up, MLB Hit's King....Pete Rose.
Pete Rose
Peter Edward "Pete" Rose, the all-time leader in hits for a career played from 1963 to 1986 for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. I figured Rose (the player) deserved to be enshrined up onto Boomer's Wall of Fame, for his 4,256 career hits and being one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. Pete Rose was named the NL Rookie of the Year (1963) and in 1973 won the NL MVP. He was great at what he did and he had a great passion and attitude when it came to playing the game of baseball, see 1970 All-Star Game. Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose was apart of the "Big Red Machine" in the Queen City during the 1970's in which won back-to-back World Series ('75 & '76). Again, in 1980 Rose was apart of another World Series Championship with the Philadelphia Phillies. Pete Rose would play a portion of the 1984 season with the Montreal Expos, before being traded back to the Cincinnati Reds, where he played till he retired in 1986. Rose managed the Reds from 1984 to 1989, and during that time placed bets and gambled on the game of baseball. In the Summer of 1989 after months of investigation and questioning, Rose was permanently banned from Baseball. The years following his ban and to present day have been a roller coaster of a ride, like most former players after their playing days are over. The saddest thing is know he probably will never be inducted into Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame), at least not in his lifetime. Here on "The Rock", we focus more on what you did on the playing field and not off it. So, with that its my honor to induct Pete Rose onto "Boomer's Wall of Fame".
"Let Him In"
And we won't stray to far from the Queen City with the coach induction...former Reds Manager (last one to lead them to a World Series Championship), Lou Pinella.
Lou Pinella
Lou Pinella, often referred to as "Sweet Lou", was a legendary manager for 5 teams in a span of 23 years. Based on Pinella winning the World Series, as the Cincinnati Reds manager in 1990, he's making the Wall of Fame. A fiery skipper over the years, "Sweet Lou" is best known for his famous meltdowns/rants that would concluded with him being ejected from the ball game. Pinella began his managerial career in New York, with the Yankees in 1986 where he had a record of 224-193 in just a little under 3 seasons. In 1990, he took over managing the Cincinnati Reds and in his first year, lead the Reds to the 1990 WS Championship, in a series sweep of the favored Oakland A's. He managed two more season in Cincinnati and had a record of 255-231. I remember "Sweet Lou" the most from his days in Seattle where he managed the Mariners from 1993-2002. He enjoyed a very successful run up in the Northwest, going 840-711 in 10 seasons winning 3 divisional crowns. In 2001, Pinella's Mariners won 116 games (a AL record and tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs ML record). After his run in Seattle, Pinella took over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and recored a 200-285 mark, and then finished up his managerial career in the windy city, with the lovable Cubs. Pinella won two divisional crowns with the Cubbies going 316-293 in just under 4 seasons. Overall, Lou Pinella managed 3,548 games with a record of 1835-1713 (.571 winning percentage). Winning Championships goes a long way in getting your name up on the Wall of Fame and include the 1,800 plus wins he is deserving of being enshinred up onto "Boomer's Wall of Fame".
Classic "Sweet Lou"
