Pete Rose set all-time records for hits, at-bats and games played, captivating Major League Baseball audiences for 24 years in three different organizations.
The Clark County, Nevada coroner confirmed to Fox News on Monday that Rose died at the age of 83. The cause of death was not immediately known. Tributes and condolences poured in as word of his death trickled around the world.
“Charlie Hustle,” as he was called during his glory days with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos, was one of baseball's two-year-olds who seemed to give it his all, whether it was afternoons, evenings, or game time. He was remembered as a polarizing person. exhibition game.
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Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies slides into third base during a baseball game against the New York Mets in Philadelphia on June 3, 1981. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File)
When asked about Rose's rival, legendary sportscaster Jim Gray said, “What he did against Ray Foss during the All-Star Game in what may have been an important game at the time, was tenacious, determined, relentless. He was a competitor, a fierce competitor,” he told FOX News Digital. For baseball fans who identify more with today's stars. “I think he played and cared about results. He cared about individual performance. He cared about team performance, and he was aggressive. The fans loved him. They knew he cared about every day. I loved that he came to work and gave his all.'' And as far as I can tell, what we saw on the field was his pursuit of winning. ”
Gray recalled some of his first memories with Rose on the field when he was the anchor for the Phillies' pregame show. Rose played in Philadelphia from 1979 until midway through the 1983 season, when he was traded to the Expos.
The greatness he brought to the field was ultimately overshadowed by a gambling scandal during his time as Reds manager, the likes of which the sport hadn't seen since the Black Sox scandal of 1919.
Rose was questioned in February 1989 if he ever gambled on baseball, but at the time he vehemently denied ever betting on baseball, only admitting to betting on football, basketball, and horse racing. Some of the allegations were detailed in a Sports Illustrated article, which led attorney John M. Dowd to conduct an investigation and present his findings to then-Secretary Secretary Bart Giamatti.
Dowd's report was submitted to Giamatti in May 1989 and published in June 1989. The report claimed that Rose had bet on at least 52 Reds games in 1987.
Pete Rose passed away on September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Rose ultimately agreed to be placed on baseball's ineligible list, with the option to apply for reinstatement. Gray told Fox News Digital that Rose and Giamatti wanted to figure out how to get back into baseball, but Rose's attorney, Ruben Katz, said his client agreed to the deal offered by allowing him to gamble on baseball. He said he did not want to respond. Among them was Rose, who is seeking broader support for addiction and rehabilitation.
Gray said Dowd told him that Katz told Giamatti, “Peter is a legend.” To which Giamatti replied, “No, baseball is a legend.”
Baseball world mourns Pete Rose's death: 'It's truly heartbreaking'
Rose applied for reinstatement in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2020, and 2022, but Commissioners Faye Vincent, Bud Selig, and Rob Manfred either took no action at all or Rose completely rejected the request. Rose was not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame because he was on the ineligible list.
Support for Rose seemed to be divided among legends in the game. Ted Williams said in 2000 that he believed Rose should not be in the Hall of Fame.
“I feel bad for Pete Rose, but he committed a cardinal sin called baseball. He gambled,” he said. new york times.
Former Philadelphia Phillies player Pete Rose waves to fans during the reunion on August 7, 2022 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Mike Schmidt acknowledged in 2017 that Rose would not be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but wondered why batters didn't get “the same level of latitude as other players” when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs. The paper reports. voice of philadelphia.
Years later, despite repeated denials, Rose admitted in his autobiography that he had bet on baseball. That includes Gray's famous interview at Turner Field in 1999 when he was honored as a member of the All-Century Team.
Additionally, with sports betting rampant across the United States, Manfred made it clear that Rose's return would be an “unacceptable risk.”
Gray wrote about Rose in his book “Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard.” He said it's not strange that Rose is still ineligible, given the close relationship between baseball and gambling.
“No, I don't think that's strange,” Gray told FOX News Digital. “The rules are the rules, and the rules applied to him based on the circumstances at the time this was happening. He signed his own expulsion from baseball with an opportunity to reapply, but they None of the applications were successful.”
Former Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose waves to a fan after being introduced at the Reds Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 15, 2023 in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Daron Cummings, File)
“So he understood the terms and he agreed to the terms. And just because times have changed and circumstances have changed, the main fundamental issue never changes. And that's the current manager, the player. , or anyone in the world.'' It is not permissible for public officials involved in baseball to gamble on any sport, and if they are found to be gambling, they will , severe punishment should be given. ”
Gray said he still believes Rose deserves to be in Cooperstown's hallowed halls, but added that he needs an explanation for his misdeeds.
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“Having said that, I understand that the Hall of Fame comes with a ban on baseball and gambling. We don't live in the Soviet Union. And you can't erase a person's record. And if he's on the field… He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame because he had more hits than anyone and was prolific in that regard, and obviously the plaque and honor were bestowed upon him posthumously. If so, perhaps it should reflect that. He was kicked out of baseball and the plaque says why and why, but he should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I can't say it didn't exist. ”
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