Pete Rose

Editor's note: This Tales from the Trail first appeared on Aug. 23, 2019. We are republishing it now as Rose is back in the news with his recent request to be reinstated.

Pete Rose is once again asking to be reinstated, a move necessary to be considered for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. The former Reds player is petitioning baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to have his name taken off the ineligible list.

MLB Network Presents: The Cobra At Twilight provides an intimate, comprehensive look at the Cincinnati native and former MVP Dave Parker who won two World Championships in his 19 big league seasons.

It shows him as the outspoken and confident right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates; a Cincinnati Reds clubhouse leader in the 1980s, mentoring Barry Larkin and Eric Davis; a witness in the 1985 federal crackdown on Pittsburgh cocaine dealers; and a giant slowed by Parkinson's disease at age 68 taking 20 pills a day and struggling to walk.

Cincinnati native Dave Parker, who played four of his 19 seasons for the Reds, will be profiled 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, on the MLB Network in MLB Network Presents: The Cobra At Twilight.

The season is close to an end for the Cincinnati Reds – the year when the city and the franchise celebrated the 150th anniversary of professional baseball in Cincinnati, first played by the legendary Red Stockings.

This old Johnny Carson Tonight Show is "Must See TV" for me at 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, on the Antenna TV channel. Let me explain.

The Cincinnati Reds have had their fair share of National League MVPs over the years – 10 players have won the award 12 times.

When you watch a biography of Reds Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, you expect to see lots of World Series highlights available for years on DVD.

That's all part of BENCH, a terrific 90-minute MLB Network Presents film premiering 8 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 30 on the MLB Network. But the stars of the show are Bench, now 71, being a single father to sons Justin, 12, and Josh, 9, in their Florida home.

BENCH also will bring back a flood of memories for Big Red Machine fans with the sights and sounds from Riverfront Stadium, spring training, the Reds' dugout, and Bench's foray from behind the mask into the entertainment world with Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Hee Haw, David Letterman and his own TV show.

Even for a third-generation Reds fan, it was an overwhelming task: Picking the 50 greatest seasons, players, games and personalities from 149 years of Cincinnati Reds' history.

"Fifty was an impossible task. We could have made this the Big 100 very easily," admits Chad Dotson, founder of the Redlegs Nation website and co-author of the new book, The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made The Cincinnati Reds.

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger Cincinnati Reds fan than yours truly.

Don't cry to me about their present record; that's irrelevant to my love for the team I have rooted for since I was a child, through good times and bad.

"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek posted a YouTube video Thursday to tell fans of the show he'll be "back in the studio taping more 'Jeopardy!' programs very, very soon."

On this date in TV Kiese history 50 years ago: Dayton radio talk show host Phil Donahue revolutionized TV with the debut of the "Phil Donahue Show" live on Dayton's Channel 2 on Nov. 6, 1967.

Donahue created a new genre - the daytime TV talk show - discussing current news topics and controversies.

Fifty years ago today, Tony Perez hit the game-winning home run in the 38th All-Star Game in Anaheim Stadium off Catfish Hunter for the National League's 2-1 victory on July 11, 1967.

Perez, 25, in his third full season with the Reds, was named the All-Star Game MVP.

When Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine returned to Great American Ball Park Saturday, so did public address announcer Joe Zerhusen.

DVR Alert! Fox Sports Ohio will replay Pete Rose's record-breaking hit No. 4,219 game at 7 p.m. Monday.

A replay of the entire game from Sept. 11, 1985, will lead off FSO's special coverage of Rose being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame and having his No. 14 retired during the Reds-Padres series June 24-26 at Great American Ball Park.

Update on Saturday, May 28:  Marty Brennaman told Enquirer Reds writer C. Trent Rosecrans Friday night in Milwaukee: "I will be back next year.... After that, then I’ll take stock on a year-by-year basis, essentially."  

Original post Thursday May 26: All the deserved fanfare about Vin Scully's retirement makes me wonder: Might Marty Brennaman retire at the end of this season too? Yes, he could.

When I saw Reds President Bob Castellini recently, and asked him if Marty will return next season, Castellini replied in four words: "It's up to Marty."

Producers of the documentary about the Big Red Machine “Great 8” are “exploring a few different options” after failing to fund the film on Kickstarter, the online crowd-funding site.

Only $19,580 was pledged toward the $500,000 goal during a 51-day on-line campaign, which ended Jan. 15. Just 79 people offered financial support for the “GR8.” Under Kickstarter rules, the producers do not get any money, because the goal was not met.

Update 2:20 p.m.:

Reds legend Pete Rose thanked Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for the opportunity to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.  “Regardless of what you may have read, or what you believe in, I got along with the commissioner.  He was a great guy. He didn’t rule the way I wanted him to rule, but that’s life. For him to go out of his way to let us do this, I pat him on the back,” Rose says.

Update  4:25 p.m.: Pete Rose's attorney Ray Genco says Rose will address the media at 2 p.m. Tuesday. In a statement, Genco says "We are disappointed by the decision of Commissioner Manfred that was announced this morning. We are reviewing the ruling with Pete and his family."