As a 32-year-old backup catcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts, Mike Rose has plenty of experiences to share with younger teammates.
Rose entered pro baseball as a long shot, getting picked by Florida in the 45th round of the 1996 draft, yet has competed on three big-league teams. He has enjoyed the excitement of his first promotion to the majors with Oakland in 2004, the thrill of a championship run with St. Louis in ’06 and his first big-league home run with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It was in my last at-bat of the 2005 season,” Rose said. “It was in San Diego and Vin Scully called it. That was pretty cool.”
Another experience, though, he wishes had never happened.
On March 12, 2000, Rose was in spring training with the Houston Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., when he, four other minor leaguers and a player’s girlfriend were bound with tape and held at gunpoint inside a motel room. They sat helpless as two masked men scoured the room for valuable personal items before leaving.
The victims untied themselves, but when Rose called to check on another player in his room, one of the gunmen answered. Aaron Miles was returning to his room from dinner, and he was held at gunpoint for half an hour before grabbing the gun and struggling with the perpetrator.
Police then broke into Miles’ room and shot the burglar several times. The other gunman had fled earlier but was quickly caught.
“For the longest time, I didn’t realize (Rose) was one of the guys who was in it,” Lookouts starting catcher J.D. Closser said. “I played with Aaron Miles and knew that he was part of it. I haven’t really spoken to Mike about it. I just figured that’s one of those things that happened in the past and that we’re all glad he came through it.
“It was a scary deal, though.”
Rose asked for his release from the Astros a couple of weeks later so he could get a fresh start. He does not like reliving that night, one that has left him forever changed.
“It’s made me more aware of my surroundings and made me more conscious of people who are around me,” Rose said. “Sometimes I’ll be at a restaurant with my wife having dinner, and I’ll hear several different conversations going on, and I’m not even trying to do it. It was just a freak, unfortunate thing that happened to me and a few other players in that hotel room.
“We’re very lucky, all of us. We were lucky to get out of that alive, and I think it’s changed me for the better. I appreciate every day because of it.”
Four of the six players assaulted that night went on to play in the majors. Miles and Rose were reunited as teammates on the ’06 Cardinals.
Rose has not played in the majors since and didn’t play at all last season after getting released from Colorado’s big-league camp on the final day of spring training. He signed for a second go-round with the Dodgers in January and joined the Lookouts on May 21 after Lucas May went on the disabled list with a broken wrist.
Through 17 games with Chattanooga, Rose is hitting .286 with two home runs.
“In today’s game, if you’re in your late 20s or early 30s and you’re still playing in Double-A or Triple-A, you’re going to be an insurance policy in case someone gets hurt in the big leagues,” Lookouts manager John Valentin said. “He’s had cups of coffee with big-league teams, and it’s always good to have a couple of guys like that. What he brings to our club is experience and maturity to help these young players prepare and play the game the right way.”
Though Pete Rose is of no relation, Rose does have an amusing family tidbit. His wife’s first name is Rose.
“When we first met, I asked her what her name was and started laughing once she told me,” he said. “I was like, ‘Wow, there is no way we will ever get married,’ but it ended up happening. We get a lot of flak for that, but that’s OK. I call her ‘Rose squared’ sometimes.”
The couple added daughter Michaela to their Sacramento home 18 months ago, and Rose said he likes playing for a family compared to playing alone. He is eager to keep playing for them in the years to come.
“I still feel great and feel like I still have eight or 10 years left in me,” he said. “This is something I’m never going to quit doing. They’re going to have to rip the uniform off me.”
