What does it take for a baseball player to be considered one of the greats? If you are a pitcher, it means that no one could be able to record a hit against you. A low ERA(Earned Runs Allowed), a plethora of strikeouts, and an abundance of wins are the defining statistics of an all-time great pitcher. What about if you are a batter? If you are a batter, it means that no one could keep you from getting on base. The defining statistics of an all-time great batter goes as follows: A high career batting average, a copious amount of home runs, and an ample number of RBIs(Runs Batted In). Though, the only way possible to be able to accumulate these statistics is to be able to hit. The ability to get on base is often what separates a mediocre ballplayer from a bonafide superstar. Total hits are arguably the most important statistic for hitters to have, and no one knows this more than the all-time career hits leader, Pete Rose. One would think that the all-time hits leader is in the hall of fame to be praised throughout the entire baseball world; Well… that’s not the case for Pete Rose. However, Rose played during a time when there were no performance-enhancing drugs in the league, which meant that all of his 4,256 career base hits were pure. So, the question presents itself: Why isn’t Pete Rose in the hall of fame? The answer to that question: Because he tampered with one of the basic principles of the game.

A Natural Athlete

Peter Edward Rose was born on April 14, 1941, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rose was a multi-sport athlete at Western Hills High School, playing both baseball and football at a high level. He earned the role as the starting running back on his freshman team, but when he wasn’t called up to play on the varsity team in his sophomore year, he stopped playing football entirely and turned his attention towards playing baseball full time. After Pete graduated in 1960, he joined the Class AA baseball team sponsored by Frisch’s Big Boy in the Dayton Amateur League. He played catcher, second base, and shortstop while compiling an astonishing .626 batting average, which would have been his greatest accomplishment if not for the assistance of his uncle, Buddy Bloebaum. Buddy was a “Bird Dog” scout for the Cincinnati Reds. A “Bird Dog” is a scout that is assigned to a specific region of the country to find and help develop MLB talent-level players. Bloebaum pleaded with the Reds to take a chance on his nephew, and they eventually obliged, signing Pete to a professional contract. 

“Charlie Hustle”

In 1963, during a Spring Training matchup against the Chicago White Sox, the Reds’ starting second baseman, Don Blasingame, suffered a severe groin muscle strain. This meant that Pete Rose would get an opportunity to brandish his playing abilities, and he would make the most of his shot, as he would be the consensus starting second baseman going forward into the season for the Reds. During another Spring Training contest between the Reds and the New York Yankees, legendary Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford dubbed Pete Rose “Charlie Hustle”, after Rose had sprinted to first base after being walked. Rose adopted the nickname as a badge of honor, though no one thought that the nickname would become a double entendre later in his life…

Rookie of the Year

Pete Rose made his Major League Baseball debut on April 8, 1963, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field, drawing a walk in his first plate appearance, and staying true to his nickname while sprinting over to first base. Although Rose got out to a relatively slow start, going 0 for 11 in his first 11 plate appearances, Pete finally tallied the first of his record 4,256 base hits, with a triple on April 13, against Pirates pitcher, Bob Friend. Pete Rose would then go on to bat .273 for the year, which was acknowledged by the league, as he would receive the National League Rookie of the Year Award, accumulating 17 of the 20 votes.

Civil Service

Following his NL Rookie of the Year campaign, Pete Rose took a brief hiatus from playing baseball, as he would join the United States Army Reserves. He was assigned to Fort Knox in Kentucky for six months of active duty, followed by six years with a 478th Engineering Battalion USAR unit at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. While at Fort Knox, Rose was a platoon guide and graduated from United States Army Basic Training on January 18, 1964. Rose remained at Fort Knox to accommodate his sergeant in training the succeeding platoon, and to aid another sergeant in training the fort’s baseball team. During his time serving at Fort Thomas, Rose fulfilled his duties as a company cook along with fellow Reds teammates Johnny Bench, Bobby Tolan, and Darrel Chaney. His position allowed him to return home early enough to compete in Reds home games.

Slumped

Pete Rose and the Cincinnati Reds kicked off the 1964 regular season on the road against the Houston Colt .45s(now the Houston Astros) on April 23, 1964. In the top of the 9th inning of a scoreless ballgame, Rose reached first base on an error and scored on another error later that inning. The one run was enough for the Reds to claim the victory, and Colt .45s pitcher Ken Johnson tallied Major League Baseball’s first-ever complete no-hitter whilst also coming away with a loss. However, Rose found himself caught in a slump and was benched late in the season, completing his sophomore season with a .269 batting average, 139 hits, and just 4 home runs.

Up and Running

In an attempt to improve upon his recent struggles at the plate, Pete Rose played with the Leones del Caracas(Caracas Lions) baseball team in the Venezuelan Winter League during the 1964-1965 MLB offseason. His offseason experiment seemed to have worked out for Rose, as he came back the following season to lead the major leagues in total hits with 209 and finished sixth in National League MVP voting. That season was the first of ten seasons with 200+ total hits, and his .312 batting average that season was the first of nine consecutive seasons with a batting average above .300. In the subsequent season, Rose hit for a career-high 16 home runs and switched from playing second base to right field in 1967.

Finding Success

Pete Rose began the 1968 regular season with a 22-game hitting streak. However, he would be forced to sit for three weeks of the season and miss playing in the All-Star Game in order to mend a broken thumb. Rose was able to pick up right where he had left off after returning to action, going on a 19-game hitting streak to finish the season. Rose beat out Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder, Matty Alou, to win the first of his three National League Batting titles, and finished second in NL MVP voting behind St. Louis Cardinals ace, Bob Gibson. In 1969, Rose set a career-high with a .348 batting average for the year. As the leadoff hitter for the Reds, he had tallied 218 hits, walked 88 times, and led the league with 120 runs scored. In addition, Rose was able to out-hit Roberto Clemente by a slim margin to claim the NL batting title for the second year in a row.

1970 All-Star Game

Pete Rose was involved in one of the most infamous plays in All-Star Game history on July 14, 1970. Facing the California Angels(now the Los Angeles Angels) reliever Clyde Wright in the 12th inning of an uber-competitive ballgame, Rose roped a single through the infield. He advanced to second base after Los Angeles Dodgers' third baseman, Billy Grabarkewitz, hit another single in the following at-bat. Chicago Cubs' first baseman, Jim Hickman, hit yet another single to center field. Kansas City Royals center fielder, Amos Otis, threw wildly in an attempt to prevent Rose from scoring the winning run, which resulted in Rose and Cleveland Indians(now the Cleveland Guardians) catcher, Ray Fosse colliding at home plate, as Rose scored and won the ballgame for his team. Fosse suffered a fractured and separated shoulder and was never again the player that he had used to be, and Pete Rose was sidelined for three games as a result of a bruised knee.

1973 NLCS

Pete Rose led the league with 230 hits and a .338 batting average en route to his third NL batting title and his first National League MVP award during the 1973 regular season. He also led the Reds to the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. Despite losing the series three games to two, Rose had some memorable moments throughout the games. In the 5th inning of Game 3 in New York, Rose was on first base when the Reds’ second baseman, Joe Morgan, hit a double-play ball to first base. Rose sprinted over and slid feet first into the man covering second base in an attempt to break up the play. Rose and the Mets’ shortstop, Bud Harrelson, got into it with each other. This caused both benches to be cleared and started a brawl in the middle of the infield. When Rose took the field after everyone had settled down, the rest of the game was nearly postponed, as the fans at Shea Stadium began to throw objects at Rose from the stands. Rose finished the series with 2 home runs and an outstanding .381 batting average.

“The Big Red Machine” 

Pete Rose was one of the leaders on arguably the greatest team in the history of Major League Baseball. Joining the likes of teams such as “Murderers Row” and the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics(now the Oakland Athletics), the Cincinnati Reds adopted the fierce nickname of “The Big Red Machine'' and ran amuck over the league from 1970 to 1979. During their triumphant nine-year run of dominance over the National League, Pete Rose and the Reds won six National League West Division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series Championships. Rose led the team alongside Johnny Bench, Tony Pérez, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepción, George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr., and César Gerónimo. Often referred to as the “Great Eight”, these eight men collectively won a total of 25 Gold Glove awards, made 63 All-Star Game appearances, have had 4 National League season home runs leaders, 3 National League batting champions, and 6 National League MVP awards. The Big Red Machine’s archrival was the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams regularly competed for the NL West Division title. The teams finished either in first or second place in the division every year from 1970 to 1979. The Machine was also part of a rivalry with both Pennsylvania ballclubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies. All of the team’s four NL pennants were won as a result of defeating one of the Pennsylvania teams(the Pirates three times and the Phillies once).

Milestone Season

Pete Rose would have a season full of milestones in 1978. On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th of 32 players to join the prestigious 3,000 hit club, joining the likes of names such as Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb. A month later, Rose made a run at Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game hitting streak, which stood virtually unchallenged for 37 years. With a 44-game hitting streak of his own, Rose would tie Willie Keeler’s 1897 National League record, however, the streak would come to a dramatic ending on August 1, 1978, when Atlanta Braves sidearm relief pitcher, Gene Garber, struck out Rose in the 9th inning of that game.

“The Hit King”

On September 11, 1985, in a game against the San Diego Padres, Pete Rose hit a single to left-center field off of Eric Show to tally his 4,192nd career base hit. With this hit, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all-time career hits record and stood alone at the top as Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader. ABC’s Wide World of Sports named Rose as its Athlete of the Year in 1985 to commemorate his accomplishment. Pete Rose would conclude his illustrious playing career with a grand total of 4,256 base hits and would retire as “The Hit King”. Little did he know, the double entendre was coming to haunt him…

Managerial Days

After his retirement as a player, Pete Rose became the manager for the Reds. His overall win/loss record as a manager was 426-388 which ranks 5th in Reds franchise history for managerial wins. During Rose’s short, yet memorable four-year stint as manager, the Reds posted four consecutive second-place finishes in the NL West Division. However, the success that Rose had garnered over the years would soon be drastically overshadowed by a discovery that would tarnish Rose’s reputation, and would forever shake the foundation of Major League Baseball.

Whispers in the Wind

Nearing the end of his incumbency, rumors began to erupt that Pete Rose had been illegally betting on baseball games whilst he was acting as manager for the Reds. Rose was informally interrogated in February of 1989 by the Commissioner of Baseball, Peter Ueberroth, and the National League President, Bart Giamatti. Rose vehemently denied the allegations, while owners across the league had elected Giamatti to succeed Ueberroth as Commissioner. The public was informed of the allegations on April 3, 1989, when Sports Illustrated gave its first detailed report that Rose had placed bets on baseball games in that issue’s cover story. Bart Giamatti took charge as the 7th Commissioner of Baseball on April 1, 1989, and three days later, Massachusetts Attorney, John M. Dowd, was called on to investigate the accusations against Rose.

The Dowd Report

Dowd’s investigation included interviews with many of Rose’s betting associates, such as alleged bookies and bet runners. He delivered a summary of his discoveries on the matter to Giamatti in May of 1989. The summary chronicled Pete Rose’s supposed gambling escapades in 1985 and 1986, as well as a compilation of games that Rose had allegedly placed illegal bets on during the 1987 MLB regular season. The document promulgated that Rose had bet on 52 Reds games in 1987 for a minimum wager of $10,000 a day, in what was given the title, The Dowd Report. On August 24, 1989, Pete Rose was permanently placed on Major League Baseball’s ineligible list. After being deemed incompetent by the league, Rose Began therapy with a psychiatrist to battle his gambling addiction.

The Double Entendre: Charlie, the Hustler

On January 8, 2004, nearly 15 years following the publication of The Dowd Report, Rose finally divulged about betting on baseball games, as well as other sports, whilst playing and managing on the Cincinnati Reds. Three years later, in March of 2007, Rose appeared on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio to discuss his addiction. “I bet on my team every night. I didn’t bet on my team four nights a week. I bet on my team to win every night because I loved my team, I believed in my team”, said Rose. “I did everything in my power every night to win that game.” 17 years after his confession, Pete Rose continues to receive heavy criticism for his vile wrongdoings in the sport of baseball.

Legacy

The question presents itself: How is Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time career hits leader, not in the hall of fame? Pete Rose isn’t in Cooperstown for virtually the same exact reason Shoeless Joe Jackson isn’t in Cooperstown: He disrespected the sport of baseball. Many baseball fanatics still debate whether or not Rose should be inducted. Some believe that he will be enshrined when he passes away. Others believe that he won’t ever be inducted. On September 11, 2010, the 25th anniversary of his record-breaking 4,192nd career base hit, Rose wept while apologizing to his teammates for blatantly disrespecting baseball. “I guarantee everyone in this room I will never disrespect you again. I love the fans, I love the game of baseball, and I love Cincinnati baseball.” His apology was genuine and sincere, but it does not make up for what he had done in the past. Pete Rose is a living legend in the sport of baseball, but he is also a perfect example of how one’s greatness can be easily overshadowed by an even greater mistake.