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Rose Jr. pleads guilty to drug charge
BY MIKE CASEY
SPECIAL TO NEWSDAY
November 7, 2005, 2:11 PM EST
Pete Rose Jr., son of baseball's all-time hits leader and a key player last season for the Long Island Ducks, pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he was distributing the steroid alternative GBL to minor-league teammates in 1997.
According to the indictment, Rose admitted he received GBL from a person in Tennessee while playing with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He said he distributed the drug to about half the players on the team.
Rose, 35, could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
"Obviously, this is something that happened [several] years ago when he was not with the Ducks and we didn't have knowledge of it," said Ducks general manager Michael Hirsch. "Obviously it saddens us. While he was with us, he was a good guy."
Rose was considered an emotional leader in a close-knit Ducks clubhouse. He batted .262 with 14 home runs last season, helping the defending Atlantic League champions to a second-half division title. The Ducks lost to the Nashua Pride in the opening round of the playoffs, two games to one.
Hirsch said that all Atlantic League players are tested for steroids, including Rose.
"The League does drug testing and his results, along with the rest of the Ducks' results, came out negative."
Atlantic League player contracts are for one year only, meaning Rose is no longer a member of the team.
GBL is considered a date-rape drug because it induces sleep, reduces stress, intoxicates, and enhances sex. It also enhances physical performance. Rose said teammates would take GBL to "wind down" after games.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said Rose's arrest was part of a larger investigation into a major GBL trafficking ring. The investigation, focusing on former Tennessee gym owner Bruce Michael Wayne, led to the seizure of 280 gallons of GBL in January 2004. Wayne pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and money laundering charges, but did not appear in court and is considered a fugitive.
Rose spent most of his 16-year career in the minor leagues, with the exception of an 11-game stint with the Reds in 1997. His father, Pete Sr., was banned from baseball in 1989 after an investigation found he had bet on Major League games from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the Reds.
BY MIKE CASEY
SPECIAL TO NEWSDAY
November 7, 2005, 2:11 PM EST
Pete Rose Jr., son of baseball's all-time hits leader and a key player last season for the Long Island Ducks, pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he was distributing the steroid alternative GBL to minor-league teammates in 1997.
According to the indictment, Rose admitted he received GBL from a person in Tennessee while playing with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He said he distributed the drug to about half the players on the team.
Rose, 35, could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
"Obviously, this is something that happened [several] years ago when he was not with the Ducks and we didn't have knowledge of it," said Ducks general manager Michael Hirsch. "Obviously it saddens us. While he was with us, he was a good guy."
Rose was considered an emotional leader in a close-knit Ducks clubhouse. He batted .262 with 14 home runs last season, helping the defending Atlantic League champions to a second-half division title. The Ducks lost to the Nashua Pride in the opening round of the playoffs, two games to one.
Hirsch said that all Atlantic League players are tested for steroids, including Rose.
"The League does drug testing and his results, along with the rest of the Ducks' results, came out negative."
Atlantic League player contracts are for one year only, meaning Rose is no longer a member of the team.
GBL is considered a date-rape drug because it induces sleep, reduces stress, intoxicates, and enhances sex. It also enhances physical performance. Rose said teammates would take GBL to "wind down" after games.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said Rose's arrest was part of a larger investigation into a major GBL trafficking ring. The investigation, focusing on former Tennessee gym owner Bruce Michael Wayne, led to the seizure of 280 gallons of GBL in January 2004. Wayne pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and money laundering charges, but did not appear in court and is considered a fugitive.
Rose spent most of his 16-year career in the minor leagues, with the exception of an 11-game stint with the Reds in 1997. His father, Pete Sr., was banned from baseball in 1989 after an investigation found he had bet on Major League games from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the Reds.
