R.I.P. Pete Rose

Pete Rose, major league baseball’s all time leader in hits who was later banned for life for betting on games, died on September 30th, 2024 at his home in Las Vegas. No cause of death was immediately available. He was 83.

Rose was a Cincinnati native who began his major league career as a second baseman with his home town Cincinnati Reds team in 1963. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award after hitting .273 with 170 hits and scoring 101 runs that year. Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his aggressive style of play, Rose would play in 24 big league seasons from 1963-1986 with the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. He had over 200 hits in a season 10 times, won three batting titles, led the league in doubles five times and had a .303 lifetime batting average. His individual crowning achievement was breaking the all time major league hit record of 4,189 held by Ty Cobb while on his second tour with the Reds in 1985. He retired with 4,256 in 1986. Rose played on three World Series champions, the 1975 and 1976 Cincinnati Reds and 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. He played on three other National League Champions including the 1970 and 1973 Reds, plus the 1983 Phillies.

Rose took over as manager of the Reds after retiring as a player. He remained manager until August 24th, 1989. That year, it was revealed that Rose had placed bets on sports, including baseball games, while managing the Reds. Though investigators concluded that there was no evidence Rose bet against the Reds, MLB rules state that no one involved in a baseball game can bet on that game. (After the Black Sox World Series scandal in 1919, Baseball essentially instituted a zero tolerance of gambling). On August 24th, Rose accepted being permanently placed on baseball’s ineligible list, with the understanding that he could apply for reinstatement in the future. The Baseball Hall of Fame bans players on the MLB Ineligible List, so Rose could not be voted into the Hall unless he was reinstated.

Rose applied for reinstatement at least five times, as recently as 2022. All were rejected by multiple baseball commissioners. In 2004, Rose publicly admitted that he had bet on baseball games while managing the Reds, but bet only on them to win.

With baseball now embracing legal sports betting and betting apps, it will be interesting to see if Rose will posthumously be reinstated and eventually make it to the Hall of Fame.