File this one under “if you can’t beat em, join em”. Baseball legend Pete Rose (whose 4256 hits are the most in the history of the game) has teamed up with a Mexican based gambling company to offer sports betting picks to subscribers.
The organization at the center of this, Upick, had a brief foray into the NHL before they discretely severed ties with the Golden Knights for reasons as of yet not made public. The now 80 year old former MLB hit king says he won’t be placing any of his own money on the picks he offers, and adds that he doesn’t believe the association with the website will hurt his chances of one day making the baseball hall of fame.
For a hefty, albeit ironic, fee of $89 per month (Pete Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 after it was discovered he bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds) users get access to Pete Rose’s “knowledge” of the game to make informed decisions. What insider intel Rose can bring to the table remains to be seen as he claims he’s now “just a fan of the game”. But that won’t stop him from also doling out advice on NBA, NHL, NFL, Golf, Tennis, and Major Horse Races as part of the “#InPeteWeTrust Package” being offered on the site.
Per the Upick website, users will receive 1-6 picks daily, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Pete is quoted saying “there’s nobody alive on earth that knows more about baseball than I do”, however how well this knowledge transfers to the other realms of sport he’ll be offering picks on is a gamble in and of itself.
Upick’s CEO Carlos Lazo says “We are thrilled to partner with Pete Rose, perhaps the greatest baseball player who ever lived, to provide our UPickTrade.com subscribers with exclusive and valuable content,” via a press release. “There are very few if any people in the world who know more about baseball than Pete Rose so his deep knowledge of the game and his experiences in gambling will blend well with our unique UPickTrade.com sports betting strategies and algorithms.”
On top of the existing betting packages available to customers, subscribers who purchase 9 month packages will receive a signed Pete Rose baseball, and 12 month subscribers can expect an autographed Pete Rose bat per the company press release. This however glosses over the fact that autographed Pete Rose baseballs are going for roughly $99 on Rose’s own website at the moment, so how much value is added in those long term deals is in the eye of the beholder.
Still, there aren’t many 80 year olds out there still making headlines on sports websites and news columns. If Pete Rose is going to be denied the Hall of Fame because of gambling, he might as well lean in.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @dynessports