"Great ball player" - When Pete Rose defended Barry Bonds' legacy against PED allegations

Pete Rose was arguably one of the greatest players to ever grace the game. He played from 1963 to 1986. finishing his career as Major League Baseball's all-time hit leader.

Rose played during a time when players were looking to gain a competitive advantage, turning to PEDs. Despite that, Rose stayed clean throughout his playing days.

He has long voiced his concerns with players taking PEDs and the damage it has caused the game. However, he does not hold that over Barry Bonds' head, who he believes did not use PEDs.

"Barry [Bonds] is a friend of mine, and I think, to this day, Barry said he didn't use them.. Who am I to say Barry is lying?" said Rose.

Rose holds what Bonds did in high regard. He knows firsthand how hard it is to continue playing at an elite level well past your 40s.

"Barry did something that is very unusual to do and I can contest to that because I went through it. It's very hard to dominate in any major-league sport once you become over 40. Okay, but he did and he's a 7x MVP. Barry Bonds was a great ball player" said Rose.

Reds fans honor Pete Rose at Great American Ball Park following death

Pete Rose Statue (Photo via IMAGN)

One thing about Pete Rose was that he left it all on the field as a player. He gave it everything he had when he was on the field and was somebody his teammates knew they could count on. That is why his death shook the Cincinnati Reds community up.

Rose unfortunately passed away on September 30 of this year. It came the day after he attended a collectibles show in Nashville, Tennessee with some other former professional athletes.

Last Sunday, a visitation was he;d at Great American Ball Park. Thousands of fans attended the event to pay their respects even with a constant downpour of rain and gloomy weather. The visitation lasted for 14 hours to honor Rose's jersey number.

It was arranged by the Reds with the help of his two daughters, Fawn and Kara. They shed some tears with fans, and laughs, and shared some stories about their dad from their childhood.

Fans arrived as early as 4 a.m. on Sunday for the event. that just shows what Rose meant to this community and the impact he had on it.