Roses Are Red, Monarchs Are Blue...

Day 15 of the Anderson Monarchs Civil Rights Barnstorming Tour rolled into Cincinnati with a welcomed break from a week of emotional travel. The most intriguing issue we faced all day was whether the stunning wall of 4,256 baseballs in the Reds Hall of Fame was a sufficient argument for Pete Rose's Hall of Fame membership.* I despised Rose as a Red, and loved him as a Philllie. He turned my mom into a baseball fan and was worth the price of admission every single day.

Rose's wall of hits, 4,256 balls...three staircases high

Jack checks out a Big Red Machine display

There is a big push to get Todd Frazier voted into next Tuesdays All Star Game in Cincinnati

The Reds honored the Monarchs with a pregame mention and a four-man first pitch, a quick visit with Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips and a day game against the Twins.

Todd Frazier met the players briefly before the game

Two Monarchs got to meet their baseball heroes: Jahli and Brandon Phillips and Scott and Joe Maurer.

The big treat for the Monarchs (and the travel staff!) was a stay at Cincinnati's swanky downtown Hilton Netherland Plaza.

Tamir up to no good as Jared naps in the lobby

The day wrapped up with a game at the Reds Urban Youth Academy, a huge indoor facility adjacent to an immaculate set of fields.

Alex warms up Jack

Bat lineup

Scott comes into third the hard way

Mo'ne bats on Field 1

Alex and the Tigers baserunner go their separate ways

Starter Jack Rice pitched shutout ball in front of the Reds Urban Academy complex

Second Base...where Monarch opponents go to die

Zion....still waters run deep

Sami closed out the game

It appears Sami likes to pitch

Mo'ne gets the most selfie requests but these two girls saw the boys on TV and made their mom bring them to the game

The weight room at the Reds Urban Youth Academy

(If anyone cares, I think Rose should be a Hall of Famer. I go to games to watch good baseball. I don't want to be the player's friend, and am not fit to judge them as people. It's not the *Integrity or Character Hall of Fame, it's the BASEBALL Hall of Fame. There are known womanizers and alcoholics in the Hall; they just happened to be great baseball players, and likely would have been even if fans had never become obsessed with them and wanted to know what they were like off the field. Baseball's already (justifiably) banned Rose from the game, but give him a plaque with his stats and his banishment noted. There's no diminishing his achievements because he was obsessively competitive...that's what gave us Pete Rose in the first place.)