Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hitting leader who was banned for life from baseball for gambling on games for the Cincinnati Reds, which he managed, died on Monday at the age of 83, the Reds announced in the USA. He confirmed this to TODAY Sports. No cause was given.
Rose, who had 4,256 hits, a record that will probably never be broken, was disgraced and banned from the game after a thorough investigation in 1989 revealed that he had been betting on the Reds through illegal bookmakers. Rose and Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti signed an agreement in which Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball in exchange for the league not making a formal decision on whether Rose bet on baseball.
Giamatti died on September 1, 1989, just one week after Rose signed the contract he had drawn up. But in the 33 years since then, three commissioners, Fay Vincent, Bud Selig, and Rob Manfred, have upheld the ban in consecutive years, leaving Rose still ineligible for the Hall of Fame, and some fans I regret that.
The ban has taken on a whiff of hypocrisy in recent years, as a 2018 Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates to sports betting, which is now legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Since then, MLB and other sports leagues have embraced partnerships with both physical and online sportsbooks, much to the dismay of Rose supporters who saw Herro banned for gambling. There is.
But MLB and other sports leagues have banned infielder Tucupita Marcano for life and given one-year suspensions to four other players the league determined had bet on baseball. Players who bet on games have been severely punished.
Remembering those we’ve lost: Celebrity deaths in 2024
Even after retiring, Rose continued to live in Las Vegas, signing autographs and following baseball whenever he could, including holding an autograph show in conjunction with July’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He continued to profit from his name and likeness. New York; the recent Hall of Fame weekend marked one of his last public appearances.
The outcast elder was a marked contrast to the brash, difficult player nicknamed Charlie Hustle. He fought his way through a 24-year playing career that saw him play in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Montreal, finishing his final three seasons as a player in Cincinnati.
He broke Ty Cobb’s record of 4,191 hits on September 11, 1985, with a single off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Shaw. By then he had been appointed player-manager, taking up the post on 16 August 1984, completing his tenure. He started his career as a player in 1986.
But the harsh end to his baseball career came three years later, when a thorough investigation as manager of the Reds uncovered significant evidence that he had been betting on baseball. He ultimately served five months in federal prison in 1990-1991 for tax evasion.
Although Rose often publicly stated that he was eligible to return to baseball, his pleas were often weighed against the 225-page Dowd Report, executed by former Justice Department prosecutor John Dowd at Giamatti’s request.
The report included alleged gambling records and interviews with Rose and other witnesses. Rose later admitted in his 2004 autobiography, “My Prison Without Bars,” that he had bet on the games he controlled.
“I am convinced that I should feel remorseful, sad, and guilty because I have admitted that I did something wrong,” he wrote. “But you know, I’m not built like that. I may have real emotions lying deep down inside, and I’m not willing to let that side of my personality come out.” Maybe I’ll become a better person if I do.
“But it’s not something that surfaces very often. So let’s leave it at that. … I’m sorry to all the people, the fans, the families that were hurt that this happened. Let’s move on. .”
But his life choices continued to haunt him until his retirement. In 2017, an unidentified woman alleged that Rose had an inappropriate relationship with her in 1973 when she was 14 years old. Rose admitted to the relationship, but claimed it began when her accuser was 16, the age of sexual consent in Ohio.
In 2022, before a ceremony honoring the 1980 champion Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Rose told a female reporter, “That was 55 years ago, baby,” when asked about the fear of statutory rape. I scoffed. He also told reporters, “Again, I’m here for the Philadelphia fans, I’m here for my teammates, okay. I’m here for the Philadelphia fans. I’m here for the organization, and no one cares what happened.” That was 50 years ago. ”
Rose remains baseball’s career leader in games played (3,562), at-bats (15,890), at-bats (14,053) and, of course, hits (4,256). He won three batting titles and hit a career-best .348 with the Reds in 1969, giving him a career batting average of .303.
He was a brash cog on the legendary Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s that reached the World Series four times and won championships in 1975 and ’76. In the ’75 series, he batted .370, reached base 16 times, and won MVP honors as the Reds won an epic seven-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
Rose won another championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, his hair graying, but his hitting power still intact, hitting 42 doubles at age 39.
But he was first and foremost a Red, a Cincinnati native who returned to his hometown club in the August 1984 trade that sent Tom Lawless to the Montreal Expos.
This marked the beginning of Rose’s tenure as a player-manager, a period highlighted by his becoming the definitive hitter. His downfall would occur three years later, and he would die after being banished for life.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
