Pete Rose joins FOX as a baseball analyst

This isn’t quite reinstatement, but it is mighty interesting. FOX has hired MLB’s all-time hits leader Pete Rose as a baseball analyst.

According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, Rose will serve as a guest analyst for the MLB on FOX pregame show on FOX and FOX Sports 1. He’ll also appear on “MLB Whiparound,” “America’s Pregame” and “FOX Sports Live” on FOX Sports 1.

FOX didn’t require MLB’s permission to hire Rose, but they did inform them about the possibility.

“As a courtesy, FOX informed us that they were interviewing Pete Rose for an on-air studio position,” said Pat Courtney, baseball’s chief communications officer. “The decision to hire on-air talent for its telecasts rests solely with FOX.”

Rose has officially filed for reinstatement with MLB and new commissioner Rob Manfred intends to take a look at the situation. For what it’s worth, Rose said that he didn’t take this job with the idea that it will help his cause:

“I don’t even worry about that. I’ve never thought about that,” Rose said. “I’m just trying to give back to baseball. Hopefully people will watch and I’ll make some good points that will help them understand the game more.

“I’m not concentrating or worrying about reinstatement. I’m worried about working, having fun. This will be fun for me. It won’t be like work. That’s the way I look at it.”

To this current generation of fans, Rose is mostly known for his banishment from the game more than anything he did as a player. With this new position, he’ll get a chance to talk about and analyze the game on the field. And that could be a lot of fun.

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