Pete Rose

Rose walks onto the field with the Cincinnati Reds

During a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox in 1963, the Reds' regular second baseman, Don Blasingame, pulled a groin muscle; Rose got his chance and made the most of it. During another spring training game against the New York Yankees, Whitey Ford gave him the derisive nickname "Charlie Hustle" after Rose sprinted to first base after drawing a walk.[6][7] Despite (or perhaps because of) the manner in which Ford intended it, Rose adopted that nickname as a badge of honor. In Ken Burns' documentary Baseball, Ford's teammate (and best friend) Mickey Mantle claimed that Ford gave Rose the nickname after Rose, playing in left field, made an effort to climb the fence to try to catch a Mantle home run that was about a hundred feet over his head. According to Mantle, when he returned to the dugout, Ford said "Hey, Mick, did you see ole Charley Hustle out there trying to catch that ball?".[8]

Rose made his major league debut on April 8, 1963, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field, and drew a walk in his first plate appearance. After going 0-for-11, Rose got his first Major League hit on April 13, 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.[9]

Rose entered the United States Army Reserves after the 1963 baseball season. He was assigned to Fort Knox for six months of active duty, followed by six years of attendance with a 478th Engineering Battalion USAR unit at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. At Fort Knox, he was a platoon guide and graduated from United States Army Basic Training on January 18, 1964, one week before his marriage to Karolyn Englehardt. Rose remained at Fort Knox to assist his sergeant in training the next platoon and to help another sergeant train the fort's baseball team. Later in his Fort Thomas service, Rose served as a company cook which entailed coming in early for the one weekend/month meeting so that he could leave early enough to participate in Reds home games. Other Reds players in the unit included Johnny Bench, Bobby Tolan, and Darrel Chaney.

In an April 23, 1964, road contest against the Houston Colt .45's, Rose reached first base on an error in the top of the ninth inning of a scoreless game, and scored on another error. The Colt .45s lost the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and Ken Johnson became the first pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter. Rose slumped late in the season and was benched; he finished with a .269 average. In order to improve his batting, Rose played in the Venezuelan Winter League with Leones del Caracas team during the 1964–1965 offseason. Rose came back in 1965, leading the league in hits (209) and at-bats (670), and finishing sixth in NL MVP balloting. It was the first of his 10 seasons with 200-plus hits, and his .312 batting average was the first of nine 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 hitting 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 the Pirates' Matty Alou and win the first of two close NL batting-title races with a .335 average. He finished second to St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson for the NL MVP award, earning six first place votes.

In 1969, Rose set a career-high in batting (.348) and tied his career-best 16 homers. As the Reds' leadoff man, he rapped 218 hits, walking 88 times and pacing the league in runs with 120. He hit 33 doubles and 11 triples, drove in 82 runs, slugged .512 (by far the highest mark of his long career), and had a .432 OBP (also a career best). Despite Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente going 3-for-4 in the final game, Rose's 1-for-4 was good enough for the title; Rose finished .348; Clemente .345.

Brand-new Riverfront Stadium had been open for only two weeks on July 14, 1970 when Rose was involved in one of the most infamous plays in All-Star Game history. Facing the California Angels' Clyde Wright in the 12th inning, Rose singled and advanced to second on another single by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Billy Grabarkewitz. The Chicago Cubs' Jim Hickman then singled sharply to center. Amos Otis' throw went past Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse, as Rose barreled over Fosse to score the winning run. Fosse suffered a fractured and separated shoulder, which went undiagnosed until the next year.[10] Fosse continued to hit for average and finished the season at .307, but with diminished power. He had 16 home runs before the break but only two afterwards. He played through the 1979 season, but never approached his first-year numbers.[11] The collision also caused Rose to miss three games with a bruised knee.[10]

In 1973, Rose led the league with 230 hits and a .338 batting average en route to winning the NL MVP award and leading "the Big Red Machine" to the 1973 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

During the fifth inning of Game 3 of the series, Rose was on first base when Joe Morgan hit a double play ball to Mets first baseman John Milner. Rose slid into second base in an attempt to break up the double play. This incited a fight with Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson that resulted in a bench-clearing brawl. When the Reds took the field, the game was nearly called off after the Shea Stadium crowd threw objects at Rose from the stands. The disruption caused Reds manager Sparky Anderson to pull his team off the field until order was restored. Mets manager Yogi Berra and players Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones, and Rusty Staub were summoned by NL President Chub Feeney out to left field to calm the fans. The Reds ended up losing the game, 9–2, and the NLCS, 3–2, despite Rose's .381 batting average in the series, including his eighth-inning home run to tie game one and his 12th-inning home run to win game four.

The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s earned the nickname "the Big Red Machine" as one of the greatest teams in MLB history. Rose's team included future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Pérez, and he was viewed as one of the club's leaders.

Rose was a significant factor in the Reds' success in 1975 and 1976 when he successfully moved from the outfield to third base. Earlier in his career, the Reds and then-manager Don Heffner tried to force Rose to third base, but Rose chafed at the move and it was soon abandoned. But in the spring of 1975, manager Sparky Anderson, knowing how Rose would react to being forced to move, instead asked him if he would do so for the good of the team, and Rose immediately agreed. This move strengthened third base and helped to solidify the Reds team for these two championship seasons, because it made room for power hitting outfielder George Foster. In 1975, Rose earned World Series MVP honors in leading the Reds to their first championship since 1940, a seven-game triumph over the Boston Red Sox. Rose led the team with 10 hits and a .370 batting average in the seven games. He was awarded the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year, as well as Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.

The following year, he was a major force in helping the Reds repeat as World Series champions. The 1976 Reds swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the best-three-of-five NLCS, followed by a four-game sweep of the Yankees in the World Series. The 1976 club remains the only team since the expansion of the playoffs in 1969 to go undefeated in the postseason, and the Reds franchise has not lost a World Series game since game six in 1975 (wins in game seven in 1975, and four-game sweeps in 1976 and 1990).

On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th player in major league history to garner his 3,000th career hit when he singled off of Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers in front of 37,823 fans at home field Riverfront Stadium .

On June 14, 1978, 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 eighth inning when he walked. His team was trailing in the ninth inning and the streak appeared over, but the Reds batted through their entire lineup and gave Rose another chance to bat. Rose faced Ron Reed and laid down a perfect bunt single to extend the streak to 32 games.

He would eventually tie Willie Keeler's 1897 single-season National League record at 44 games, but the streak came to an end on August 1 when Gene Garber of the Atlanta Braves struck out Rose in the ninth inning.[12] With two outs and a 2-2 count, Garber decided not to challenge Rose with a fastball. He took full advantage of Rose's predicament by throwing him an off-speed pitch out of the strike zone, which Rose swung at and missed. Rose was sour after the game. He blasted Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series".[13] Garber took the comment as a compliment: "I said to myself, 'Well, thanks, Pete. That's how I try to pitch every time I'm in a game.'"

The Philadelphia Phillies had won the National League East three years running (1976–78)—two of which were won with 101-win seasons—but they were unable to make it to the World Series. In 1979, the Phillies believed that Rose was the player who could bring them over the top, and they temporarily made him the highest-paid athlete in team sports when they signed him to a four-year, $3.2-million contract as a free agent. With perennial All-Star Mike Schmidt firmly entrenched at third, Rose made the final position change of his career when he moved to first base.

Although the Phillies missed the postseason in Rose's 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 their first ever World Series title (1980) in the following four years.

Rose had the worst season of his career in 1983, which was also the season that the Phillies played in their second World Series in four years. The 42-year-old Rose batted only .245 with 121 hits and found himself benched during the latter part of the 1983 season when he appeared periodically to play and pinch hit. Rose did blossom as a pinch-hitter, with eight hits in 21 at-bats, a .381 average.

Rose bounced back during the postseason, batting .375 (6-for-16) during the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and .312 (5-for-16) in the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. Rose went 1-for-8 in the first two games in Baltimore and was benched for game three in Philadelphia, though he grounded out in a pinch-hitting appearance. Rose objected to manager Paul Owens' decision to bench him in a pre-game interview with Howard Cosell of ABC Sports. Rose bounced back with four hits in his last seven at-bats in the remaining two games, though the Phillies lost the Series to the Orioles, four games to one.

Rose was granted an unconditional release from the Phillies in late October 1983. Phillies management wanted to retain Rose for the 1984 season, but he refused to accept a more limited playing role. Months later, he signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Expos. On April 13, 1984, the 21st anniversary of his first career hit, Rose doubled off the Phillies' Jerry Koosman for his 4,000th career hit, becoming the second player in the 4000 hit club (joining Ty Cobb). Rose played 95 games with the Expos, accumulating 72 hits and 23 RBIs while batting .259. On August 15, 1984, he was traded back to the Reds for infielder Tom Lawless.

Upon rejoining the Reds, he was immediately named player-manager, replacing Vern Rapp. Despite his .259 average for the season prior to joining the Reds, he hit .365 for the Reds in 26 games (with 35 hits and 11 RBIs), finishing with a .286 overall average—a 41-point improvement over the 1983 season. Furthermore, Rose managed the Reds to a 19–22 record for the remainder of the season. Though the role was once common, to date Rose is the last person ever to serve as a player-manager in Major League Baseball.

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 MLB.com, Major League Baseball continues to recognize Cobb's final hit total as 4,191, though independent research has revealed two of Cobb's hits were counted twice.[14][15] Because of this, it has been suggested 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 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 Rich Gossage on August 17, 1986.

In 2010, Deadspin reported Rose used corked bats during his 1985 pursuit of Cobb's record. Two sports memorabilia collectors who owned Rose's game-used bats from that season had the bats x-rayed and found the telltale signs of corking.[16][17] Rose had previously denied using corked bats.[18]

On April 30, 1988, during a home game against the New York Mets, with two out in the top of the ninth inning, Mookie Wilson hit what looked like a routine ground ball to the shortstop, but the throw to first base was wide and pulled the first baseman's foot off the bag. Umpire Dave Pallone didn't immediately make the safe call and the first baseman waited for the call instead of making a play at the plate, allowing Howard Johnson to score all the way from second base with what would turn out to be the game-winning run.[21][22] Rose vehemently argued the call and forcefully pushed the umpire twice with his shoulder and forearm, knocking Pallone several feet backward. Pallone promptly ejected Rose, per longstanding rules that call for immediate ejection for even touching an umpire. Rose had to be forcibly restrained by his own coaches as he came back at Pallone. He claimed Pallone had initiated the physical contact, and can be seen in the footage of the incident pointing to his cheek, attempting to explain to umpire Eric Gregg that Pallone had poked him in the face. In his book, Pallone wrote an entire chapter on the incident and said he did not touch Rose and National League personnel who investigated the incident later agreed with him. In the time it took to remove Rose from the field, Cincinnati fans began showering the field with objects that included radios and cigarette lighters. Even though the inning was not over, everybody retreated to the dugouts. Reds' owner Marge Schott posted a message onto the electronic billboard, asking fans to stop throwing objects onto the field.

After a 15-minute suspension of play, Pallone left the field and the game was completed with the remaining three umpires. National League president A. Bartlett Giamatti suspended Rose for 30 days, which was the longest suspension ever levied for an on-field incident involving a manager. He also fined Rose "a substantial amount"; the actual amount was not disclosed. Giamatti said; "Such incidents are not business as usual and will not be allowed to become so."

Giamatti also summoned the Reds' on-air radio announcers, Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall, to his office in New York City and dressed them down for inciting the fan response with "inflammatory and completely irresponsible remarks." Giamatti told Brennaman and Nuxhall, "There is no excuse for encouraging a situation where the physical safety and well-being of any individual is put significantly at risk. Nothing justifies such unprofessional behavior." [23]

Amid reports that he had bet on baseball, Rose was informally questioned in February 1989 by Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth and NL President Bart Giamatti. Rose vehemently denied the allegations. By this time, MLB owners had elected Giamatti to succeed Ueberroth, and the outgoing Commissioner decided to leave the matter to be dealt with by his successor. In the meantime, Sports Illustrated gave the public their first detailed report of the allegations that Rose had placed bets on baseball games on March 21, 1989,[24] in the cover story of the issue dated April 3, 1989.[25] Giamatti assumed office as the seventh Commissioner of Baseball on April 1. Three days later, lawyer John M. Dowd was retained to investigate the charges against Rose.

Dowd interviewed many of Rose's associates, including alleged bookies and bet runners. He delivered a summary of his findings to the Commissioner in May. In it, Dowd documented Rose's alleged gambling activities in 1985 and 1986 and compiled a day-by-day account of Rose's alleged betting on baseball games in 1987. The Dowd Report documented alleged bets on 52 Reds games in 1987, citing Rose wagered a minimum of $10,000 a day; whereas others allegedly involved in the activities claim that number was actually $2,000 a day.

Rose continued to deny all of the accusations against him and refused to appear at a hearing with Giamatti on the matter. He filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, the Ohio state trial court covering Cincinnati, alleging that the Commissioner had prejudged the case and could not provide a fair hearing. The Court of Common Pleas issued a temporary restraining order to delay the hearing, but Giamatti sought to remove the case to the federal United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The Southern District of Ohio granted Giamatti's removal petition. The parties thereafter entered settlement negotiations, as the federal court, whose judges were life appointees and whose jurisdiction included large areas where the Reds were less popular, was seen to be a less favorable forum for Rose than a state court covering only Cincinnati and its immediate environs and whose judges faced election every six years.

On August 24, 1989, Rose voluntarily accepted a permanent place on baseball's ineligible list.[26] Rose accepted that there was a factual reason for the ban. In return, Major League Baseball agreed to make no formal finding with regard to the gambling allegations. According to baseball's rules, Rose could apply for reinstatement in one year but Bart Giamatti said, "There is absolutely no deal for reinstatement. That is exactly what we did not agree to in terms of a fixed number of years." [27] Rose, with a 412–373 record, was replaced as Reds manager by Tommy Helms. Rose began therapy with a psychiatrist for treatment of a gambling addiction.

Giamatti died of a heart attack on September 1, 1989, eight days after announcing Rose's suspension.[28]

The Dowd Report says, "no evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Reds," but investigator Dowd stated in a December 2002 interview that he believed Rose probably bet against the Reds while managing them.[29] Those critical of Rose's behavior, including Ohio's own Hall of Fame baseball reporter, Hal McCoy, have observed that "the major problem with Rose betting on baseball, particularly the Reds, is that as manager he could control games, make decisions that could enhance his chances of winning his bets, thus jeopardizing the integrity of the game."[30] The Major League Baseball rule that Rose violated prohibits any bet on a game the bettor is involved in, making no distinction between betting for or against one's team. The rule is: "Rule 21 Misconduct, (d) Betting on Ball Games, Any player, umpire, or club, or league official, or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible."[31]

In 1992, Rose applied for reinstatement. Fay Vincent, who as deputy commissioner had played a key role in negotiating the agreement banning Rose before becoming commissioner after Giamatti's death, never acted on Rose's application. In September 1998, Rose applied for reinstatement with Vincent's successor Bud Selig, but Selig also never acted on it.

In public comments, Selig said he saw no reason to reconsider Rose's punishment; however, in March 2003, Selig acknowledged that he was considering Rose's application, leading to speculation that Rose's return might be imminent.[32] Ultimately, however, Selig took no action.[33]

Representatives for Rose applied in 2015 for reinstatement with Selig's successor, Rob Manfred.[34] However, on December 15, 2015, Manfred rejected the request. Manfred stated that Rose had not been forthcoming about his gambling and that Rose (who by this time was living in Las Vegas) was still betting on baseball. Although Rose was placing legal bets by this time, MLB has long barred players, managers, and coaches from any form of gambling on baseball, legal or otherwise. He also felt that Rose did not have "a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct" and the damage it had done to the game. For these reasons, Manfred concluded that allowing him back in the game would be an "unacceptable risk".[35]