Pete Rose

He is the all-time hits leader with 4,256. He played in over 500 games at five different positions. But he was banned from baseball 13 years ago when he was accused of gambling on the game. In his new book "Peter Rose: My Prison Without Bars" (with Rick Hill) Rose admits for the first time that he gambled on baseball. Rose still hopes — and so do many of his supporters — that one day he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (This interview continues in the second half of the show.)

The veteran sports journalist has a new book called The Heart of the Order, which collects his baseball columns from the past five years. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the respectful way he interviews and writes about athletes, managers, and owners -- and how this approach has enriched his reporting.