I am not sure what you mean. My opinion, and I did watch him play when he came to Los Angeles with the Reds, as well as on TV, was that he was never popular. Die-hard Reds fans admired him for being such a superb hard player, but I don’t believe he was broadly popular. After all his gambling, I believe fewer people liked him. So, NOPE, I don’t think people like him. He’s comparable to Ty Cobb in terms of likability. Not much.
I believe many still do. I’m a Dodger fan, by the way. He is my favorite player of all time. He had his first at-bat when I was born in 1963. I adore Pete Rose. When he was on a hitting streak, they cut in on regular shows to show him at the plate. My only regret is that I have never seen Ted Williams play.
Pete Rose was a popular figure when he initially emerged in the 1960s, and he remained so until the early 1980s. Then his popularity began to dwindle, and it has continued to do so ever since. Nobody likes him anymore.
