Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hit king who left the sport in disgrace after being banned for betting on games, died Monday aged 83, multiple U.S. media outlets reported.
Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" for his hard-charging effort and dogged determination, the long-time hometown hero for the Cincinnati Reds passed away in Las Vegas, reports said.
Rose set MLB career records with 4,256 hits, 15,890 appearances at the plate, 3,562 games played and 3,215 singles.
His most celebrated feat came on September 11, 1985 when he singled to left field off San Diego pitcher Eric Snow in Cincinnati for his 4,192nd career hit, breaking the prior all-time MLB hit mark held by Ty Cobb, who played from 1905 to 1928.
Over his 24-season career, Rose captured three World Series titles, in 1975 and 1976 with the Reds and in 1980 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rose was a 17-time All-Star over his career at a record five different positions -- left and right fielder plus first, second and third baseman.
He won the season batting titles in 1968, 1969 and 1973, when he also claimed the National League Most Valuable Player award. Ten years earlier, Rose had been named the NL Rookie of the Year.
After a brief stint with the Montreal Expos in 1984, Rose was traded back to the Reds and made player-manager, a dual role he kept through the 1986 campaign before retiring as a player and guiding the club for three final seasons until 1989, when details of his gambling on MLB games emerged.
Rose denied the allegations. But only three days after Bart Giamatti took over as MLB commissioner in April 1989, the new boss named attorney John Dowd to investigate the matter.
The following month, Dowd documented betting activity by Rose in 1985 and 1986 and produced a day-by-day gambling account for 1987 that included Rose betting on 52 Reds games in which he served as the team's manager.
On August 24, 1989, Rose was placed on MLB's permanently ineligible list and Giamatti announced his ban. Eight days later, Giamatti died of a heart attack.
© 2024 AFP
11 Comments
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Japantime
Seems like a good baseball player, but terrible person. Luckily there are more Japanese players dominating in the MBL in America and all the fake records will be held by true and honest players.
John
No HOF for this cheater.
stormcrow
A great player but with lots of personal issues, like with Ty Cobb (the previous all time hit king).
Mocheake
Ridiculous. I didn't like Pete Rose the baseball player because his teams beat my New York teams back in the 1970s and he got into an infamous fight with Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson. That aside, he played the game the way it should be played: hard-nosed and always at full throttle. I admire the hell out of him. He was all hustle, hence the nickname Charlie Hustle, and if I had ever played or coached that is exactly the way I would have done it. There are only a small handful of Japanese players even close to being this caliber of player. You need to actually watch the sport instead of watching hype on Japanese TV. By the way, it's MLB not "MBL." Lastly, Pete Rose holds no "fake records" and he DEFINITELY WAS ALL THAT! RIP.
rainyday
This is nonsense. Rose's record isn't "fake" - he is undisputedly MLB's all time hits leader and nothing has tarnished that. He never cheated, took PEDs or any of that.
He got banned for gambling as a manager after his playing days.
I think he deserves to be kept out of Cooperstown, but the hypocrisy of MLB and its increasing, blatant ties to organized sports betting on the one hand, while on the other maintaining its hard line against Rose pretty much makes me want to vomit.
DaDude
RIP Had a chance to meet Pete once when I was a kid as he was visiting my uncle's office. He was very nice and gave me tips as a little leaguer plus some autographs.
MBL some new independent league I don't know about?
Mocheake
@Rainyday, you are correct that the hypocrisy is increasing, and it is across all sports. They penalize players for even the most innocuous bets between each other. Then maintain strong ties with all the main gambling organization and run b.s. ads about keeping your gambling within manageable means and for you to seek help if you have gambling problems.
kaimycahl
@John he bet on games. In order to hit the ball you have to see the ball!!
No HOF for this cheater.
Gene Hennigh
His ban is not "life-time" but permanent. That's why 105 years after probable HOFer Joe Jackson is not in the hall. Permanent is a good choice for the man who thought he was bigger than the game.
Muratafan
Anything Pete did on the field is far, far more overshadowed by his gambling. Pete thought he was above baseball and could find a way to beat the system. Putting him into the HOF sends a very, very strong message of 'hey, go ahead and bet on baseball, we'll just forgive you in the end.' When you watch MLB, you assume that the games are not fixed. Putting Rose in the HOF would make that assumption questionable.
Of all the major team sports to bet on, baseball is the easiest one to do so since there are so many games and many times the games are meaningless, yet they still have betting lines on them.
Roten
As I recall, Pete Rose was never charged with fixing a game, or doing something to change the spread. As a player, he certainly showed Hall of Fame caliber work. His records were clean, and he was an outstanding and fun-to-watch player.