The baseball community mourns the loss of a titan. Peter Edward Rose Sr. led a historic life, filled with great feats of talent and skill, yet forever tarnished by gambling scandals.
According to ESPN Sports Peter “Pete” Edward Rose, born April 14, 1941, grew up surrounded by sports. He quickly became a dual sports star in high school, playing both football and baseball. Although he was the starting varsity running back as a freshman, Rose quickly developed into a five tool baseball player. It was this inherently natural talent that would lead to him becoming one of the best baseball players of all time.
Pete Rose signed with the Reds in 1960, eventually making his professional debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field, on April 8, 1963. From there, he quickly made a name for himself, batting .273 and winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award according to Baseball-Reference.
Although his numbers were incredible for a rookie, he truly distinguished himself from the rest during his 1973 season with the Reds. Rose led the league in hits (230), while batting .338. This season was filled with ups and downs. However, the Reds, nicknamed “The Big Red Machine” battled adversity, punching their ticket to the postseason. The team led by Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez, advanced to the National League Championship. The team would end their postseason run with a 3-2 series loss against the Mets, but it would mark a turning point in the organization. This turning point led to deeper postseason runs, and the 1975 World Series. There, Pete Rose battered the Red Sox defense with ten hits and a .370 batting average, earning the World Series MVP award. The Reds would also go on to win the 1976 World Series, becoming one of only 14 teams to win back to back World Series titles.
Pete’s career was marked with triumphs and milestones that only the titans of baseball reach. Although Pete Rose was known for a lot of great athletic feats, his 44 game hit streak is one of his greatest accomplishments. The streak began with a single on June 14, 1978. From there, he would get a hit in every game until August 1, where the streak ended when he struck out against Gene Garber of the Atlanta Braves. In another great milestone, Rose was the thirteenth player in baseball history to collect 3000 hits, and the second of all time to reach 4000. These respective hit clubs are a distinguishing factor amongst the best of the best in the baseball world.
The remainder of Pete’s career was less eventful, although he did have a short stint as a pinch hitter for the Phillies in the 1983 World Series. Rose’s last at bat came against Goose Gossage of the San Diego Padres, on August 17, 1986. From there Rose began his career as manager for the Reds, and would go on to accumulate a record of 426-388, becoming the fifth winningest coach in Reds history. Interestingly enough, Rose would become the last active player-manager in baseball history.
Unfortunately, Pete’s historic career would later be shrouded in controversy, as a series of gambling scandals and cheating allegations arose. Rose officially admitted to gambling in 2004, and was consequently banned from the Hall of Fame for life.
Despite his later mistakes, Pete Rose will forever be remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.
