Pete Rose, baseball's career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, has died. He was 83. A spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner that Rose died Monday; the cause and manner of death had not yet been determined, the AP reports. No player in the 1960s and '70s was more exciting than the Cincinnati Reds' No. 14, "Charlie Hustle," the brash superstar with the shaggy hair, puggish nose and muscular forearms. At the dawn of artificial surfaces, divisional play, and free agency, Rose was old school, a conscious throwback to baseball's early days.
Millions could never forget him crouched and scowling at the plate, running full speed to first even after drawing a walk, or sprinting for the next base and diving headfirst into the bag. In the 1970 All-Star Game, Rose scored the winning run after crashing into Ray Fosse so brutally at home plate that it pained the catcher for years. A 17-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Rose played on three World Series winners. He was the National League MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP two years later. He holds the major league record for games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890) and the NL record for the longest hitting streak (44). He was the leadoff man for one of baseball's most formidable lineups with the Reds championship teams of 1975 and 1976, with teammates including Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, and Joe Morgan.
But no milestone approached his 4,256 hits, breaking his hero Ty Cobb's 4,191 and signifying his excellence no matter the notoriety which followed. It was a total so extraordinary that you could average 200 hits for 20 years and still come up short. Rose's secret was consistency, and longevity. Over 24 seasons, Rose had 200 hits or more 10 times, and more than 180 four other times. He batted .303 overall, even while switching from second base to outfield to third to first, and he led the league in hits seven times. "Every summer, three things are going to happen," Rose liked to say, "the grass is going to get green, the weather is going to get hot, and Pete Rose is going to get 200 hits and bat .300."
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Four years after setting a hits record, Rose was gone from baseball. 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 MLB investigation gathered testimony and evidence. At a press conference in 1989, Commissioner Bart Giamatti announced, "One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts." He said Rose had agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball, a decision that in 1991 the Hall of Fame would rule left him ineligible for induction. But the helmet, bat, and cleats he used the day he set the record are displayed in Cooperstown. (More obituary stories.)
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