No doubt. The Reds wanted butts in the seats and for him to get the record, and the team did finish in second place. It was the only fit that would have allowed him to get the record in 1985 and maybe ever-- I doubt any AL team would have plugged him in at DH to get the record in a city where he had no history.
Makes you wonder though. The Reds had Nick Esasky and his 21 HRs in LF. Esasky was basically a 3b and should have played there ahead of old and by then lousy Buddy Bell. Still, they had groomed Esasky for 1b also the year prior. So putting him at first instead of Rose would have freed up outfield ABs for a young Eric Davis and a young Paul O'Neill.
Hey, I've got more than enough disgust about Rose's gambling, lying and arrogance for this '85 lineup thing to really matter to me, but just thought it helped take some of the polish off of the "Pete Rose was all about winning" mantra.
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If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other. - Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President.
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