All-Time Hit King Pete Rose Dies
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in career hits, died on Monday at the age of 83.
A vital cog in Cincinnati’s Bid Red Machine of the 1970s, Rose became famous for breaking Ty Cobb’s career hits record before becoming infamous for gambling on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds.
TMZ was first to report on his death and did not cite a cause.
Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Rose played 24 seasons, including two stints with the Reds, with whom he won two consecutive World Series titles, and five years with the Philadelphia Phillies, on which he won another title. In 1986 as a player/manager, Rose surpassed Cobb’s all-time hit mark of 4,189 hits and would finish his career with 4,256 knocks. Rose and Cobb are the only two players in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits.
In 1989, the league investigated Rose – then the Reds’ manager – over allegations he bet on baseball. While Rose initially denied gambling on games, more than a decade later he admitted to betting on the Reds. He was banned from the league for life by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 and has been ineligible for the Hall of Fame ever since. (The league’s investigation was led by attorney John Dowd, who, in a weird twist, would serve as Donald Trump’s personal attorney and recommend a lawyer named Ty Cobb to be appointed to a White House position.)
Rose earned Rookie of the Year Honors in 1963 and added a National League MVP in 1972. A 17-time All-Star, he batted .303 over his career.
He was a divisive figure on and off the field. His never-let-up attitude was both admired and – depending on the circumstance – questioned. During the 1970 All-Star game, Rose went all-out to score from second on a single. In doing so, he bowled over Oakland Athletics catcher Ray Fosse, who sustained a serious shoulder injury.
Rose led the league in batting three times and in hits seven times. In the postseason, he regularly rose to the occasion, hitting .321 and taking home the World Series MVP award in 1975.
