'I wanted to save Pete.' Johnny Bench opens up about Pete Rose on 'The Dan Patrick Show'

Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench discussed the career and legacy of Pete Rose on "The Dan Patrick Show" Tuesday.

Bench, who along with Rose was an integral piece of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, said he just missed seeing Rose over the weekend. They both attended the Music City sports collectibles and autograph show , but Bench went Saturday while Rose and other former Reds legends went Sunday.

Rose sat in a wheelchair as he posed for a photo at the show with fellow former teammates Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Pérez and Ken Griffey Sr. After hearing that Rose appeared to be in poor health, Bench said he planned to reach out to his fellow Reds Hall of Famer.

"The guys were very concerned about him on Sunday because they said he just wasn't the same old Pete," Bench said. "It's sad. It really is."

Rose, 83, was found dead at his home Monday in Clark County, Nevada, according to officials there.

MLB's all-time hits leader with 4,256, Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling while managing his hometown Reds. Bench said he and his fellow Reds teammates did everything possible to help Rose.

"To think he reached base almost 6,000 times. 6,000 times. I mean, there's nobody like him. ... Dammit why? Why? You get up and wonder why all of this happened," Bench said, later adding that the adrenaline likely led to Rose's gambling issues.

"Let's face it. We talk about alcoholism. ... I see kids on drugs all the time. They have a hard time getting off," Bench said. "Gambling is an addiction. Let's just face it. We know it is and it was for him. But he needed it. He wanted it. He wanted to compete."

Bench, who wore a "Pete and Johnny Show" T-shirt while talking to Patrick, praised Rose's baseball career Tuesday, saying he didn't think anyone loved the sport more. But the Cincinnati native's off-the-field issues have become a dark cloud over his legacy.

"I am absolutely devastated. I actually cried because I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want this to happen to Pete," Bench said. "I wanted to save Pete. Yeah, we had our differences. We knocked heads on some certain things. There wasn't one time that we didn't shake hands or hug whenever we saw each other. I just didn't want it hanging over him. I didn't want this to be part of baseball. I didn't want it to be a black eye on baseball to begin with. But more importantly, Pete gave everything to all of us, all of us. Yet this sickness, this addiction was too much for him to overcome."

Bench hasn't shied away from criticizing Rose over the years, knowing Rose broke one of baseball's major rules. Yet, he still went to former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig multiple times to support him.

"I got buried in Cincinnati because I didn't support Pete," Bench said.

"Tony Pérez to Joe Morgan, there wasn't one of us that didn't say to Pete, 'Come on let's do this,'" Bench said. "It's sad (we have to relive) his legacy with the gambling part of it rather (than) the legacy with four-two-hundred and a gillion hits ... and the desire to make everybody better. Everywhere he went he made everybody better."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'I wanted to save Pete.' Johnny Bench opens up about Pete Rose on 'The Dan Patrick Show'