4192: The Crowning of the Hit King (2010)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Exceptional documentary taking a look at the career of Pete Rose who would go down into history for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time hit record on September 11, 1985. The documentary features Pete sitting and discussing the big moments of his career from how he got involved in baseball, being signed by the Reds, various World Series titles, famous hit streaks, signing with Philadelphia, returning home to the Reds and just about everything else you can think of. There's the infamous take out play at home during the All Star game, a famous fight he was involved in and just about everything else you'd remember about his playing career. Marty Brennaman, Tony Perez, Paul O'Neil and Mike Schmidt are among the people interviewed who share their memories of some of the most memorable moments in baseball history. If you're looking for a complete documentary that covers Rose's personal life, ban from baseball and the various "issues" that have came up since he retired from playing then you'll certainly want to skip this because non of that stuff is mentioned. I personally think that's a great thing because most of the stuff dealing with Rose for the past twenty years has all been negative so it's good to find a piece that just looks at the great stuff he did and I think the case about the Hall of Fame is easily made here without having to give a speech or dive into some sort of message. It was really a lot of fun hearing all of these stories from Rose who talks about them with a certainly flair and you can still see that passion in his eyes when he talks about these events. Just look at how upset he gets when discussing the three World Series loses that he suffered as a player. Rose really comes across open and good here as he tells these stories and even at two-hours you really wish the film had gone on longer. Baseball buffs, Rose fans or just those getting into sports should really enjoy this thing as it's a fitting tribute to the legend.