Pete Rose: All-Time Hits Leader, On MLB Permanently Ineligible List, Passes Away
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 07:42PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
Montage: Cincinnati RedsOctober 1, 2024: MLB.com: A gritty baseball great who compiled a nearly unrivaled list of achievements, only to tarnish his own legacy with sins against the game that drew a nearly unrivaled list of detractors, Pete Rose died on Monday (Sept. 30) at the age of 83.
Rose passed with the distinction of being both Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader and on its permanently ineligible list for betting on Cincinnati Reds games.
"Major League Baseball extends its deepest condolences to Pete Rose's family, his friends across the game, and the fans of his hometown of Cincinnati, Philadelphia and beyond who admired his greatness, grit and determination on the field of play. May he rest in peace," MLB said in a statement.
In 1989, it was determined by MLB investigators that Rose had violated league rules by betting on baseball games while managing the Reds. Commissioner Bart Giamatti declared that Rose was permanently ineligible from Major League Baseball but could apply for reinstatement after one year.
Rose agreed to the terms, but Giamatti died only (8) days after banning Rose, and subsequent Commissioners declined to let Rose back into the game.
The ban also kept Rose blocked from election to a place he would have otherwise been enshrined, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
In 1991, the Hall's board voted that anybody permanently banned from the game would be ineligible for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot and blocked from enshrinement.
AP Sports: On March 20, 1989, (MLB commissioner) Peter Ueberroth (who would soon be succeeded by A. Bartlett Giamatti) announced that his office was conducting a “full inquiry into serious allegations” about Rose.
Reports emerged that he had been relying on a network of bookies and friends and others in the gambling world to place bets on baseball games, including some with the Reds.
Rose denied any wrongdoing, but the investigation found that the “accumulated testimony of witnesses, together with the documentary evidence and telephone records reveal extensive betting activity by Pete Rose in connection with professional baseball and, in particular, Cincinnati Reds games, during the 1985, 1986, and 1987 baseball seasons.”
Meanwhile, his story changed. In a November 1989 memoir, written with The Boys of Summer author Roger Kahn, Rose again claimed innocence, only to reverse himself in 2004.
He desperately wanted to come back, and effectively destroyed his chances. He would continue to spend time at casinos, insisting he was there for promotion, not gambling. He believed he had “messed up” and that his father would have been ashamed, but he still bet on baseball, albeit legally.
Longtime Reds teammate and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench posted his reaction to Rose’s death in a social media post: “My heart is sad. I loved you Peter Edward. You made all of us better. No matter the life we led. No one can replace you.”
Cincinnati Reds: The Cincinnati Reds extend their deepest condolences to the family, friends, and teammates of Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose, who passed away earlier today at the age of 83.
“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” said Bob Castellini, Reds Principal Owner and Managing Partner. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him.
"Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country. We must never forget what he accomplished.”
Montage: AP SportsRose, a 17-time All-Star, is the all-time MLB leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215). He won three World Series (1975 & 76 with the Reds, 1980 with the Phillies), three batting titles (1968, ’69 & ’73), one National League Most Valuable Player Award (1973), two Gold Glove Awards (1969, ’70), NL Rookie of the Year Award (1963) and 1975 World Series MVP. In 1999, Rose was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Rose was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2016 and his iconic No. 14 was retired the same year. His statue outside Great American Ball Park was dedicated in 2017.
CNN: Rose was one of baseball’s greats — a winning-obsessed sparkplug who topped MLB’s all-time hit list with 4,256 over a 24-season career.
He stood out for his all-in effort, sliding head-first and running even when a pitcher walked him — a style that earned him the nickname, first derisively, then admiringly, “Charlie Hustle.”
He played for three World Series champion teams — the Reds’ stacked “Big Red Machine” roster in 1975 and 1976, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 — was voted to the National League’s All-Star team 17 times, and won both the National League Rookie of the Year award (1963) and the Most Valuable Player award (1973).
But his gambling on his own team — and his denials — ended his budding baseball managerial career and kept the sport’s most prolific hitter from enjoying its highest honor.
Lawyer John Dowd’s report concluded Rose bet on the sport, including Reds games — in 1985 and 1986, when he was both a Reds player and the team’s manager, and 1987, when he was just the manager.
"Rose agreed to the terms, but Giamatti died only (8) days after banning Rose, and subsequent Commissioners declined to let Rose back into the game."
In 2015, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred turned down Rose’s request for reinstatement, saying Rose admitted only to having bet on baseball in 1987 while he was just managing the Reds, and that Rose claimed he couldn’t remember evidence in Dowd’s report pointing to him betting while he still was playing in 1985 and 1986.
Rose’s comments “provide me with little confidence that he has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct,” Manfred wrote.
Sports Collectors Daily: The news of the death of Pete Rose at age 83 closed one of baseball’s most memorable lives. The man who signed more autographs than any Hall of Famer, literally signed until the day before he died.
Rose’s body was found at his home in Las Vegas Monday. He had flown back to Nevada after appearing at a card and autograph show in Nashville alongside other teammates on the 1970s Cincinnati Reds, including Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey, Sr. Rose was seated in a wheelchair.
Rose was a fixture at card shows and other venues during his post-playing days. While those myriad appearances have kept prices fairly low, he remained a popular guest. In July, he appeared at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland.
While he died not having been inducted into the Hall of Fame, collectors treated him as if he was. His 1963 Topps rookie card and other key cards are among the most popular and valuable of the era. Bidding on Rose cards, signed and unsigned, was heavy into early Tuesday.
While Rose was connected to the sports memorabilia world, over the years he sold off much of his baseball memorabilia, including items used for his record-breaking hit that surpassed Ty Cobb and his famed 44-game hitting streak.