Since Fox Sports announced its hiring of Pete Rose as a studio analyst on Saturday, I’ve wondered, What took so long?
His banishment from Major League Baseball has not precluded him from dispensing commentary from a television studio. He cannot work in a press box or any other credentialed area in a ballpark without permission from Commissioner Rob Manfred. But even if Rose never works outside Fox’s Los Angeles studio, he remains a fascinating personality for his playing career and for his gambling sins, which landed him on baseball’s ineligible list. And viewers might want to pay attention to him more than to any other Fox analyst, whether it is Frank Thomas or Eric Karros.