By BRIAN COSTELLO
April 27, 2008
As both New York baseball stadiums prepare to close, The Post looks back at the 25 most memorable moments in the history of Shea. This week, No. 22.
July 25, 1978
Five years after being Public Enemy No. 1 at Shea Stadium, Pete Rose hears the cheers of a 35,000 at the ballpark when he extends his hit streak to 38 games, breaking the National League record of Tommy Holmes. The Reds lost the game 9-2 but no one focused on the result, just Rose's three hits that night as he drew closer to Joe DiMaggio's major-league record. Rose extends the streak in the third inning when he takes Craig Swan's 1-1 pitch to left field for a single.
Holmes, then the Mets director of community relations, comes onto the field and shakes Rose's hand. Holmes set the record in 1945 with the Boston Braves. The game is stopped as photographers snap and the crowd salutes Rose for three minutes. "Pete" is displayed on the big scoreboard in right field. The fans embrace Rose, holding pennants that read, "Do it, Pete, Do it" and chanting "Go Pete Go" when he was at the plate. The crowd reaction was remarkable considering the Shea fans threw things at Rose five years earlier after his fight with Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NLCS.
Rose's streak began on June 14 against the Cubs. "I'll stop hitting when I go 0-for-4 some night," Rose said. "I got 3,000 hits in 15 years, one month and one week, and that's the fastest anybody ever got so many hits. And I'm not over the hill at 37. I've never been a fast runner or good thrower, but my legs and arms are my strongest things. I'm strange." The streak came to an end at 44 games on Aug. 1 against the Braves, falling 12 games shy of DiMaggio. Rose would become the all-time hits leader before his career was through. He was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the sport.
