hustled. That was definitely admirable. And he loved playing baseball. He was very fun to watch. That said, he was a real jerk in a lot of ways, including sometimes, on the field. All effort and no self control sometimes leads to high levels of worldly success. But I'm not sure it's always better than maybe 95% effort mixed with self control. His inability to control himself not only led to his gambling issue, but it led to him treating people close to him very poorly. I read an article some years back about how he treated his wife and son.

He divorced his wife because she gained weight as she got a little older. When asked about it, he said, "I don't know how anyone married to me could let herself go like that." Even her weight was all about him. His son, Pete Jr., seemed desperate for his attention and approval in ways that never quite came. He bounced around the minors and foreign leagues for twenty years, getting called up to "the show" for a brief stretch in 1997 with the Reds. He marked the dirt with "HK 4,192" each time in the on deck circle to honor his father. The "HK" meaning "Hit King."

As good as he was, I can't bring myself to feel too sorry for him that he died without getting into the Hall of Fame.