Pete Rose, one of the greatest hitters in history who was eventually banned for life for gambling, died Monday at the age of 83, two of the teams he played for reported.
The American baseball player was found dead at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to reports from ABC and TMZ.
The all-time leader in hits in the Majors, Rose was an MVP (Most Valuable Player) and winner of three World Series but did not make it into the Hall of Fame after being banned for life for betting on games.
“The Cincinnati Reds extend their deepest condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Pete Rose, who passed away today at the age of 83,” the Cincinnati Reds, the franchise where he played 19 of his 24 major league seasons, said in a statement.
Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his aggressive playing style, Rose holds the competition record for hits with a total of 4,256.
His most famous feat came on September 11, 1985, when he singled to left field off San Diego pitcher Eric Snow in Cincinnati for his 4,192nd career hit, surpassing the previous record held by Ty Cobb.
Only Rose and Cobb, who played between 1905 and 1928, have surpassed the 4,000-hit barrier.
Rose also had 3,215 singles and 160 home runs in his 3,562 games played.
During that career he won three World Series trophies, two of them consecutively with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and another with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
Rose “will always be remembered for his grit and drive and for playing an integral role in leading the team to its first World Series title,” the Phillies acknowledged in X.
His record also includes batting titles for the seasons in 1968, 1969 and 1973, the year in which he was recognized as the National League MVP.
He was also selected 17 times for the All-Star Game, in a total of five different positions: left and right fielder, first, second and third base.
– Suspended for betting –
After leaving the Phillies and a brief stint with the Montreal Expos, Rose was sent back to the Reds in 1984 to serve as player and manager, a dual role he held until 1986.
Rose then retired as a player and continued coaching until details of his betting on Major League Baseball games came to light in 1989, allegations he denied.
But new baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti appointed attorney John Dowd to investigate the situation, which found evidence of betting in the 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons, including dozens of Reds games.
In 1989, Rose was banned from baseball for life, and in 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame voted to remove players from the permanently banned list.
Rose, who tried unsuccessfully to overturn the punishment, admitted in 2004 that he bet on Reds games, justifying that he always bet on the team’s wins and never on losses.
In 2010, on the 25th anniversary of his career-high hit, Rose apologized to many of his former teammates for “disrespecting the game.”
The baseball player, who spent five months in prison between 1990 and 1991 for tax evasion, also had a brief stint on the Fox network as a commentator.
“He always made me smile when we worked together at Fox. No one loved baseball more than Pete, I will miss him dearly,” wrote another of the giants of this sport, Alex Rodriguez, in X.
You may also like:
