The Big Lead

Pete Rose dies at age 83 with complicated MLB legacy

By Joe Lago

1985: Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose. Pete Rose 8
1985: Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose. Pete Rose 8 / File, Cincinnati Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader and a 17-time MLB All-Star, passed away in his home in Las Vegas on Monday. He was 83.

TMZ first reported the news. ESPN's Eduardo Perez confirmed Rose's death on "SportsCenter" through his father Tony, who played with Rose on the Cincinnati Reds' World Series championship teams in 1975 and 1976.

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"It's a tough one right now," an emotional Perez said.

Known as "Charlie Hustle," Rose played 24 MLB seasons with the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos, and he finished his career in 1986 as the all-time hit king with 4,256. He won his third World Series ring with the Phillies in 1980 as a member of the "Cardiac Kids" who had a penchant for comeback victories.

Rose rejoined the Reds in 1984 as player-manager and focused solely on managing starting in 1987. However, in 1989, a Sports Illustrated report detailed allegations of Rose's bets on baseball games. An investigation led to Rose voluntarily accepting a lifetime ban by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti.

Rose finally admitted to betting on baseball in 2004. His repeated attempts for reinstatement were declined by commissioners Bud Selig and Rob Manfred.

Rose also remained excluded from consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame, which still feels incomplete without the inclusion of one of the game's greatest players.

Rose earned his nickname with a hard-nosed, relentless style of baseball that he even displayed at the MLB All-Star Game. In 1970, he infamously collided into catcher Ray Fosse to score the winning run for the National League, leaving Fosse with a shoulder injury that hampered him the rest of his career.

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