PETE ROSE: ""Mr. 300

The Big Red Machine's Charlie Hustle--""He even runs to the shower""--in a biography that sticks to the diamond details, much like Libby's Pete Rose (1972) from the same publisher. His father's encouragement is the sole source of that all-out motivation, and his private life, except for a one-sentence marriage, does not exist at all--not even a friend in the club house. Instead, Brandt follows Pete's professional career closely, touching on early weaknesses, continued strengths, and the records and awards achieved. He treads gingerly over the trouble spots--the 1970 slide into Chicago catcher Fosse, the 1973 scuffle with the Mets' scrawny Harrelson--so the backlash of 1974, when he was booed all over the league, is not entirely comprehensible, and this year's salary dispute is omitted altogether. Cincinnati's native son, seen from the grandstand, in a brisk, glossy portrait.