Pete Rose

Peter Edward "Pete" Rose, Sr. (born April 14, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio), nicknamed Charlie Hustle, is a former player and manager in Major League Baseball. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, best known for his many years with the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions (2B, LF, RF, 3B, and 1B).

Rose's nickname, "Charlie Hustle", was given to him for his unique playing style. Even when being walked, Rose would sprint to first base, instead of the traditional trot to the base. Rose was known for sliding headfirst into a base, his signature move. This method is now used almost exclusively by stealing base runners today, and has been ever since the late '70s.

In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds; some accusations claimed that he bet on the Reds. In 2004, after years of public denial, he admitted to betting on baseball and on, but not against, the Reds. After Rose's ban was instated, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction. Previously, those who were banned had been excluded by informal agreement among voters. The issue of Rose's possible re-instatement and election to the Hall of Fame remains a contentious one throughout baseball.

Major Leagues
Early Years

Rose walks onto the field with the Cincinnati Reds Rose made his Major League debut on April 8, 1963 (Opening Day) against the Pittsburgh Pirates and drew a walk. On April 13, Rose - who was 0-for-11 at the time - got his first Major League hit, a triple off Pittsburgh's Bob Friend. He hit .273 for the year and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, collecting 17 of 20 votes. On April 23, 1964, in the top of the ninth inning of a scoreless game in Colt Stadium, Rose reached first base on an error and scored on another error to make Houston Astros' rookie Ken Johnson the first pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter. However, he slumped late in the season, was benched, and finished with just a .269 average.

Rose came back in 1965 to lead the league in hits (209) and at-bats (670), and hit .312, the first of his 10 seasons with 200-plus hits and the first of 9 consecutive .300 seasons. He hit a career-high 16 home runs in 1966, then switched positions from second base to right field the following year. In 1968, Rose started the season with a 22-game hit streak, missed three weeks (including the All-Star Game) with a broken thumb, then had a 19-game hit streak late in the season. He had to finish the season 6-for-9 to beat out Matty Alou and win the first of two close NL batting-title races with a .335 average. Rose had his best offensive season in 1969, leading the league in batting for the second straight season (.348) and also pacing the league in runs with 120. As the Reds' leadoff man he was the team's catalyst, rapping 218 hits and walking 88 times. He hit 33 doubles, 11 triples, and a career-best 16 homers. He drove in 82 runs, slugged .512 (by far the highest mark of his long career), and had a .432 OBP (also a career best). But the Reds finished four games out of first, and Rose lost the MVP award to Willie McCovey. Rose and Roberto Clemente were tied for the batting title going into the final game; Rose bunted for a base hit in his last at-bat of the season to beat out Clemente.


1970 All-Star Game

On July 14, 1970, in brand-new Riverfront Stadium (opened just two weeks earlier), Rose was involved in one of the most famous plays in All-Star Game history. Leading off against California's Clyde Wright in the 12th inning, Rose hit a single and advanced to second on another single by the Dodgers' Billy Grabarkewitz. The Cubs' Jim Hickman then singled sharply to center. Amos Otis' throw went past Indians catcher Ray Fosse, but Rose still barreled over Fosse to score the winning run. It has been written that Fosse suffered a separated shoulder in the collision, but it went undiagnosed initially. Fosse continued to hit for average (he finished the season at .307), but with diminished power - he had 16 homers before the break but only two after. He played through the 1979 season, but never approached his first-year numbers. The collision also caused Rose to miss three games with a bruised knee. Fosse did not miss any games immediately after the incident. As can be seen in a replay of the event, Rose initially intended to slide headfirst, but when Fosse blocked the plate prior to the throw reaching home, Rose came back up and knocked Fosse out of the way, clearing his path to home as the throw went by.


1973 NLCS

In 1973, Rose won his third and final batting title with a .338 average, collected a career-high 230 hits and was named the NL MVP. The Reds ended up losing the National League Championship Series to the Mets despite Rose's eighth-inning home run to tie Game One and his 12th-inning home run to win Game Four. During Game Three of the series, Rose got into a fight with the popular Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson while trying to break up a double play; the fight resulted in a bench-clearing brawl. The game was nearly called off when, after the Reds took the field, fans threw objects from the stands at Rose, causing the Reds team to leave the field until order was restored.


44-Game Hitting Streak

On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th player in Major League history to collect his 3,000th career hit, with a single off Expos pitcher Steve Rogers. On June 14 in Cincinnati, Rose singled in the first inning off Cubs pitcher Dave Roberts; Rose would proceed to get a hit in every game he played until August 1, making a run at Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak, which had stood virtually unchallenged for 37 years. The streak started quietly, but by the time it had reached 30 games, the media took notice and a pool of reporters accompanied Rose and the Reds to every game.

On July 19 against the Phillies, Rose was hitless going into the ninth with his team trailing. He ended up walking and the streak appeared over. But the Reds managed to bat through their entire lineup, giving Rose another chance. Facing Ron Reed, Rose laid down a perfect bunt single to extend the streak to 32 games. He would eventually tie Willie Keeler's single season National League record at 44 games; but on August 1, the streak came to an end as Gene Garber of the Braves struck out Rose in the ninth inning. The competitive Rose was sour after the game, blasting Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the 7th game of the World Series" and adding that "Phil Niekro would have given me a fastball to hit."


The Big Red Machine

On a team with many great players that is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest teams ever, Rose was viewed as one of the club's leaders (along with future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez). His 1975 performance was considered outstanding enough that he earned the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. The following year, Rose was a major force in helping the Reds repeat as World Series champions. The 1976 Reds swept the Phillies 3-0 in the National League Championship Series and then swept the Yankees 4-0 in the World Series. The 1976 Cincinnati Reds remain the only team since the expansion of the playoffs in 1969 to go undefeated in the postseason.


Rose goes to the Phillies

In 1979, Rose became a free agent and signed a four-year, $3.2-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, temporarily making him the highest-paid athlete in team sports. The Phillies were in the middle of the greatest era in the history of the franchise when Rose came on board. They had won the National League East three years running (1976-1978) two of which were won with 101 win seasons. Although they missed the postseason in his first year with the team, they earned three division titles (one in the first half of the strike shortened 1981 season), two World Series appearances and one World Series title (1980) in the following four years (Ironically, Pete had the worst season of his career in 1983 when the Phillies played in their second World Series in four years), hitting only .245 with 121 hits. Rose found himself benched during the latter part of the '83 season, appearing periodically to play and pinch hit. Rose did blossom as a pinch-hitter, with 8 hits in 21 at bats - .381 average.

Pete bounced back in a big way during the Postseason, batting .375 (6-for-16) during the N.L. Playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and .312 in the World Series for the Phillies (5-for-16). Rose collected only 1 hit in his first 8 at-bats in the first two games in Baltimore against the 1983 A.L. Champions. Pete found himself benched for game three back in Philadelphia, and would ground out in a pinch-hitting appearance. Worse yet, Rose showed some unsportsmanlike attitude toward his own manager, Paul Owens, but complaining about his benching. Yet, the next day, he started hitting the baseball again in Charlie Hustle style, collecting 4 hits in his last 7 at-bats. Still, the Phillies lost decisively to the Orioles in the '83 World Series, 4 games to 1.


Montreal Expos

After the conclusion of the 1983 World Series, Rose was released by the Phillies. Phils management wanted to retain Rose, but he refused to accept a more limited playing role. Pete was granted an Unconditional Release from the Phillies in late-October 1983. Months later, he signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Expos in 1984. On April 13, batting right-handed, Rose doubled off of the Phillies' Jerry Koosman for his 4,000th career hit, joining Ty Cobb to become only the second player to enter the 4000 hit club. The hit came 21 years to the day after Rose's first career hit.


Back to the Reds

Rose was traded to the Reds for infielder Tom Lawless on August 15 and was immediately named player-manager, replacing Reds' manager Vern Rapp. On September 11, 1985, Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show. According to its Web site, MLB.com, Major League Baseball continues to recognize Cobb's final hit total as 4,191, though independent research has revealed that two of Cobb's hits were counted twice. Because of this, it has been suggested that Rose actually broke Cobb's record against the Cubs' Reggie Patterson with a single in the first inning of a Reds' 5-5 called game against Chicago on September 8. Because Rose broke Cobb's record, ABC's Wide World of Sports named Rose as its Athlete of the Year that year. Rose accumulated a total of 4,256 hits before his final career at-bat, a strikeout against San Diego's Goose Gossage on August 17, 1986.

On November 11, Rose was dropped from the Reds' 40-man roster to make room for pitcher Pat Pacillo, and he unofficially retired as a player; he continued as manager, now non-playing. "Charlie Hustle" finished with an incredible number of Major League and National League records that have lasted for many years. Rose, always proud of his ability to hit .300 or better in 15 of his 24 playing seasons, has a lifetime .303 Batting Average.