Pete Rose, the Cincinnati Reds great and Major League Baseball’s all-time hit leader, died at 83. Rose, a Cincinnati native, spent 19 seasons with the Reds and amassed an MLB record 4,256 hits during his career. Rose died on Monday in his Las Vegas home. According to Melanie Rouse, the Coroner for the Clark County Office, his cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with a significant condition of diabetes mellitus. The method of death was natural. One of the most well-known Cincinnati sports icons of all time, Rose’s spectacular career took a tricky turn when he was permanently barred from baseball due to claims that he gambled on games while playing and managing for the Reds.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame eventually declared that those on the “permanently ineligible” list would be barred from induction, effectively keeping Rose’s name out of baseball’s most elite club. Rose’s career is unquestionably Hall of Fame worthy.
Rose, a member of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, holds the all-time MLB record for hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), and singles (3,215). Charlie Hustle was known for his all-around ability and energy, and he won three World Series championships, one MVP award, two Gold Gloves, and Rookie of the Year (1963), among hundreds of other honors.
After graduation, Rose signed a professional contract with the Reds, launching a professional baseball career that would place him among the game’s luminaries. Rose still holds the most Major League Records in history, including at-bats, singles, and games. But the real record-breaker came on September 11, 1985, when he surpassed Ty Cobb’s hits total. The hit brought the game to a halt, and the fans rejoiced.
Rose later became team manager, and he received a lifetime suspension from baseball for gambling on games. He had attempted for decades to be reinstated, but all of his appeals were dismissed. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame, and his number 14 was retired in 2016. Rose posed for photos with friends and Big Red Machine members the day before he died. The Big Red Machine members were present, including Rose, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Perez, and Ken Griffey Sr. The show organizers tweeted a photo of everyone posing for a picture.
