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| Credits: Sam Greene, The Enquirer |
Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader, passed away at the age of 83. The Cincinnati Reds confirmed the news to USA TODAY Sports on Monday. Rose’s death closes the chapter on a legendary yet controversial career in the sport. The exact cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
A Record That Will Never Be Broken
With a staggering 4,256 career hits, Pete Rose remains an iconic figure in baseball history. His record is unlikely to be surpassed, cementing his place as one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. However, Rose’s legacy was marred by an extensive investigation in 1989, which revealed he had bet on Cincinnati Reds games while serving as their manager.
In response to the findings, Rose and then-MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti reached an agreement, granting Rose a lifetime ban from baseball in exchange for not formally declaring whether or not he had bet on the sport. Giamatti passed away just a week later, on Sept. 1, 1989, but the ban has endured, upheld by every MLB commissioner since.
The Lifetime Ban and Its Ongoing Controversy
Rose’s lifetime ban has been a subject of fierce debate for over three decades. Some argue it’s a harsh penalty, especially considering the Supreme Court's 2018 decision that legalized sports betting in 38 states and Washington, D.C. As Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues now embrace partnerships with betting platforms, Rose’s supporters see hypocrisy in how the sport has handled his case.
However, the league maintains strict regulations against players betting on games they are involved in. MLB has continued to ban players for gambling, including lifetime bans for violations as recent as 2023.
A Las Vegas Retirement and the Rose Brand
Despite his ban from baseball, Rose spent much of his retirement profiting from his fame. He made frequent appearances in Las Vegas, where he signed autographs and hosted baseball-related events. His most notable presence came during the annual Hall of Fame induction weekends in Cooperstown, New York, where he held autograph signings near the ceremony, as his ban barred him from official MLB events.
Rose’s gritty playing style earned him the nickname "Charlie Hustle." Known for his aggressive approach, Rose played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos over his 24-year career. He returned to the Reds as a player-manager in 1984, a role that led to his eventual downfall.
Breaking Ty Cobb’s Record
On Sept. 11, 1985, Rose cemented his place in baseball history by breaking Ty Cobb's long-standing record of 4,191 hits with a single off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show. Though his playing days ended the following year, his tenure as a player-manager continued until the gambling scandal broke in 1989.
Rose's life after baseball wasn't free from controversy. In addition to his gambling scandal, he served five months in federal prison from 1990 to 1991 for tax evasion.
The Dowd Report and Rose’s Admission
The 225-page Dowd Report, commissioned by Giamatti and written by former Department of Justice attorney John Dowd, contained evidence of Rose’s betting habits, including alleged betting slips and witness interviews. In his 2004 autobiography, My Prison Without Bars, Rose admitted to betting on games he managed but famously struggled with expressing remorse.
"I'm sure that I'm supposed to act all sorry or sad or guilty now that I've accepted that I've done something wrong," Rose wrote in his book. "But you see, I'm just not built that way. Sure, there's probably some real emotion buried somewhere deep inside. But it just doesn't surface too often. So let's leave it like this: ... I'm sorry it happened, and I'm sorry for all the people, fans and family that it hurt. Let's move on.”
Controversy Beyond Baseball
In 2017, another scandal surfaced when a sworn statement from an unnamed woman alleged that Rose had a relationship with her in 1973 when she was 14 years old. Rose denied the timeline but admitted the relationship began when she was 16, which was the age of consent in Ohio at the time.
In 2022, before a ceremony at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park to honor the 1980 Phillies championship team, Rose dismissed questions about the incident. When asked by a female reporter about the allegations, he responded, “It was 55 years ago, babe.”
A Legacy of Triumphs and Tribulations
Pete Rose leaves behind an enduring legacy as both a record-breaking player and a controversial figure in baseball. He still holds MLB career records for games played (3,562), plate appearances (15,890), at-bats (14,053), and hits (4,256). Rose won three batting titles, with a career-best .348 average in 1969, and finished with a lifetime average of .303.
He was a central figure in the legendary Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s, helping the Cincinnati Reds win World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. Rose earned MVP honors in the 1975 series, batting .370. He won another championship in 1980 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite his accomplishments, Rose's banishment has overshadowed much of his career. His record-breaking moment in 1985 marked a peak, but his fall from grace in 1989 and the subsequent controversies have kept him out of the Hall of Fame and cast a shadow over his career.
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