Rose passed away on Monday at the age of 83. As confirmed by a medical examiner’s office in Franklin, Tennessee, there were no signs of foul play. Rose had attended an autograph connection the day prior.
The unfortunate side of Rose’s legacy comes for younger baseball fans who only remember stories passed down of how the greatest hitter ever is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. As tough as as defiant as Rose was on the diamond, he was equally as defiant upon receiving a lifetime ban for gambling on baseball in August of 1989, while the current manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds would win the World Series in a four-game sweep over the Oakland Athletics the following season.
Rose holds the Major League records for hits, singles (3,215), games played (3,562), at bats (14,053), and plate appearances (15,890). His managerial record stood at 412-373 (52.5 percent) at the time of his banishment. As a member of the Reds, Rose won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976, earning World Series Most Valuable Player honors during the run to the first championship. He would win a third championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, leading the club in hits during the regular season (185) at 39 years old.
Rose was a 17-time All Star, compiling a .303 career batting average, 160 home runs, and 1,314 runs batted in. Defensively, Rose was a two-time Gold Glove winner. He earned the 1963 Rookie of the Year Award, and was the 1973 National League MVP, where he hit .338 with 230 hits, 30 better than Atlanta’s Ralph Garr for tops in the league. The .338 average was nearly 20 points higher than Houston’s Cesar Cedeno (.320) for tops in the NL. Only Rod Carew’s .350 was better in all of baseball.
His final three seasons saw a return to Cincinnati, with the 1985 and 1986 campaigns being designated as a player and manager. Early in the 1988 season, Rose drew a 30-day suspension as manager after physically shoving an umpire following a disputed call in a game against the New York Mets. The suspension was handed down by NL President Bartlett Giamatti, who would synonymously be linked with Rose the remainder of their lives. The suspension still ranks as a MLB record for an on-field incident involving a manager. AJ Hinch was suspended for a full year for his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal of 2017-18.
In February of 1989, Rose was questioned by Giamatti and MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth over allegations of gambling. The Reds manager denied having bet on baseball, but admitted to betting on several different sports while in the dugout during games. Giamatti succeeded Ueberroth in the weeks after the interview as Commissioner, and Rose’s days were numbered. The infamous Dowd Report brought to light strong circumstantial evidence that Rose had bet on Reds’ games, but never bet against his own team. On August 24, 1989, Rose accepted Giamatti’s permanent ban offer.
Eight days later, Giamatti passed away.
Rose was a 17-time All Star, compiling a .303 career batting average, 160 home runs, and 1,314 runs batted in. Defensively, Rose was a two-time Gold Glove winner. He earned the 1963 Rookie of the Year Award, and was the 1973 National League MVP, where he hit .338 with 230 hits, 30 better than Atlanta’s Ralph Garr for tops in the league. The .338 average was nearly 20 points higher than Houston’s Cesar Cedeno (.320) for tops in the NL. Only Rod Carew’s .350 was better in all of baseball.
His final three seasons saw a return to Cincinnati, with the 1985 and 1986 campaigns being designated as a player and manager. Early in the 1988 season, Rose drew a 30-day suspension as manager after physically shoving an umpire following a disputed call in a game against the New York Mets. The suspension was handed down by NL President Bartlett Giamatti, who would synonymously be linked with Rose the remainder of their lives. The suspension still ranks as a MLB record for an on-field incident involving a manager. AJ Hinch was suspended for a full year for his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal of 2017-18.
In February of 1989, Rose was questioned by Giamatti and MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth over allegations of gambling. The Reds manager denied having bet on baseball, but admitted to betting on several different sports while in the dugout during games. Giamatti succeeded Ueberroth in the weeks after the interview as Commissioner, and Rose’s days were numbered. The infamous Dowd Report brought to light strong circumstantial evidence that Rose had bet on Reds’ games, but never bet against his own team. On August 24, 1989, Rose accepted Giamatti’s permanent ban offer.
Eight days later, Giamatti passed away.
Rose was eligible to file for reinstatement after one year, but every filing or appeal over the next 35 years was met with the same level of denial as Morgan Freeman’s “Red” from the film The Shawshank Redemption. Pete Rose finally admitted to betting on baseball in his 2004 autobiography, My Prison Without Bars.
In the years following, Rose was inducted into the Celebrity Hall of Fame wing of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2004, and was a panelist with Fox Sports’ baseball coverage between 2015-2017. He was dismissed when allegations arose of an improper sexual relationship with a teenager in the 1970s.
Undoubtedly we can already see and hear the media coverage hypocrisy surrounding Rose’s passing on shows and networks sponsored by gambling sites, such as DraftKings and BetMGM. Just like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox scandal before him, Rose set precedent in sports for gambling while being an active on-field member of a franchise. Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, and current Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley were hammered by their respective leagues for their infractions. Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 season, while Porter was given a lifetime ban by the NBA.
There will be many fans who now see this as an opportunity to have Pete Rose posthumously reinstated, where he would immediately be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Pandora’s Box that would be opened regarding the Joe Jackson similarity would have little-to-no gray area. You could not have one get approval, while leaving the other in purgatory.
-JC24
In the years following, Rose was inducted into the Celebrity Hall of Fame wing of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2004, and was a panelist with Fox Sports’ baseball coverage between 2015-2017. He was dismissed when allegations arose of an improper sexual relationship with a teenager in the 1970s.
Undoubtedly we can already see and hear the media coverage hypocrisy surrounding Rose’s passing on shows and networks sponsored by gambling sites, such as DraftKings and BetMGM. Just like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox scandal before him, Rose set precedent in sports for gambling while being an active on-field member of a franchise. Former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, and current Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley were hammered by their respective leagues for their infractions. Ridley was suspended for the entire 2022 season, while Porter was given a lifetime ban by the NBA.
There will be many fans who now see this as an opportunity to have Pete Rose posthumously reinstated, where he would immediately be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Pandora’s Box that would be opened regarding the Joe Jackson similarity would have little-to-no gray area. You could not have one get approval, while leaving the other in purgatory.
-JC24