BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Johnny Bench (R) and The Hit King [ ZOOM ]

It is typical of baseball's woes that arguably its best ambassador also tops the game's permanently ineligible list.

Pete Rose took the ''red-eye'' flight from the West Coast into Cincinnati on Saturday morning and promptly went to work signing autographs at the Big Red Machine reunion show at Convention Center.

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling, but he still talks a great game. More than any of his celebrated Big Red Machine teammates - and more than anybody playing the game today - Rose emanates the strongest sense of baseball history.

And he is, by far, the most delightfully unabashed talking about his place in that history.

Baseball needs its past. For example: young fans know that Ken Griffey Jr. is baseball's best player and its most charismatic spokesperson. But World Series games played late at night (for the benefit of television ratings) render these same young fans unable to get a feel for the game and its lore.

Meanwhile, Rose broadcasts his nationally syndicated radio talk show and does public appearances - but not inside major-league baseball parks. To baseball, he's persona non grata. To anybody covering the pastime, however, Rose still fills notebooks.

And if the topic of discussion is Rose himself, batten down the hatches; Rose will bury you with a barrage of numbers.

Take, for example, San Diego Padres leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson. A few years ago, the pundits - especially those of the nouveau variety - proclaimed Henderson the ''greatest leadoff hitter in history.'' Henderson, who is well past his prime, has been mentioned as a possible off-season acquisition by the Reds.

Rose takes exception to those who would make Henderson king.

''If I'm not mistaken, I'm number one in the history of baseball in hits,'' Rose said. ''If I'm not mistaken, I'm number one in the history of baseball in runs scored in the National League and number three overall - behind two guys named Aaron and Cobb. Plus, I've played in the most winning games ever.

''Yet, every time I see Rickey Henderson's name mentioned, they say he's the greatest leadoff hitter ever. How does he qualify as the greatest leadoff hitter ever? Is it because he hits home runs leading off games? ... OK, so he's stolen all those bases. I hit all those ... doubles. A double is a single and a stolen base.

''It gripes the heck out of me. I'm seventh in history in walks. It's not like I'm Matty Alou and got 220 hits and 18 walks. I was on base close to 300 times every year.''

On the Big Red Machine, Rose said, it was not his role to steal bases.

''A lot of times it would have been a disadvantage for me to steal a base,'' he said. ''Let's say I hit a single leading off the game. I'm on first base. (Joe) Morgan's up. The first baseman is holding me on. If I steal second base, there's no hole there - and believe me, Joe got a lot of hits through that hole. He hits the ball through the hole, I go to third, Joe steals second, no outs and look who's coming up - (Johnny) Bench and (Tony) Perez and (George) Foster.''

Rose was delighted to be back with his former teammates Saturday at Convention Center. About 2,500 people paid for autographs Saturday from some or all of the 14 Big Red Machine players; the other half of the team will be on hand today, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the card and memorabilia show runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5, children 10 and under are free; autograph fees are extra.

''We had a happy clubhouse,'' Rose said about the Big Red Machine. ''You go into one of these clubhouses today where the top guy on the team is hitting .260 and the top RBI guy has 70 with two months to go. How can they be happy? Players get paid on what they do.

''I was always getting my 200 hits. Johnny was always getting his 35 home runs. Joe was getting his .300 batting average. Tony was always driving in at least 90 runs. Who's got time to have a long face? Nobody. A happy home is a good home. That's a great expression for the Big Red Machine.''

Published Nov. 24, 1996.