Remembering the summer of Pete

ESPN looks back on Pete Rose's ban from baseball, 25 years after the ruling came down.
As the summer dragged on, Rose's attorneys pursued remedies through the legal system. A Cincinnati judge named Norbert Nadel gave Rose a temporary reprieve when he blocked a hearing at which Giamatti could have banned Rose from the game. But the escape hatches eventually closed for good, and Rose was finally forced to come to grips with reality. He accepted a lifetime ban on Aug. 23, and his lawyers and MLB drew up the paperwork.
Forever oblivious to appearances, Rose flew to Minneapolis that night to hawk memorabilia on the Cable Value Network. The next morning, he appeared at a news conference, apologized to fans and steadfastly denied he had bet on baseball. The interview room at Riverfront Stadium was so packed with reporters I had to watch the announcement from outside the front door.
The next year, the Reds won the World Series.
And still Rose remains outside of baseball.