A private autograph session at a Cincinnati area memorabilia shop turned a bit chaotic this week when a young thief grabbed a Pete Rose bat and ran out the door.
Police in Forest Park, north of the city, say Rose was signing autographs in the back of The Sports Gallery when a group of juveniles entered the front of the shop. Owner Mark Fugate says he then saw them take off in a hurry out the front door, one of them carrying a black Marucci bat that Rose was to sign and inscribe.
Fugate caught up to one of the youths and confronted him and luckily a police officer on a targeted patrol in the shopping center also arrived on scene quickly.
The bat was recovered and Fugate opted not to file charges. The officer spoke with WLWT-TV, which aired a story on the incident. Watch below (but you might want to ignore the “Pete Rose Robbed” headline on the clip).
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