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Gone at 83. Great, great player. Questionable human being. I sure enjoyed watching him play the game.
It’s incredibly difficult to collect 200 hits in a season. The one and only Stan Musial reached that plateau just six times. The great Albert Pujols did it only once. Think about it for second or two…If a baseball player were to emerge onto the scene and collect 200 hits for 20 consecutive seasons, he’d still be 256 hits shy of the great Pete Rose. I saw him play more times than I can count. Pete Rose always impressed me as a player who played every second of every game as if his very life depended on the outcome. He really did.
Pete Rose always impressed me as a player who played every second of every game as if his very life depended on the outcome.
Early on I decided I didn’t like the marathon analogy and always thought that a season should be approached as 162 sprints in a row. I came to think that way because I noticed it was always the loser saying its a marathon. I never heard somebody who just won saying that. There used to be some players who seemed to see it that way too, like Rose.
Sad to see about rose. The way he played was for the most part the way everyone should play. The only time while he was playing that i thought he was out of line was when garber i believe struck him out ending his shot at continueing his hit streak when he was chasing dimaggios record. He was mad cause garber was pitching like it was a playoff game, kind of ironic that he himself played every game that way. Rest in peace, pete.
Bad person, but one of the greatest to ever play the game. Note his game-related shortcomings on his plaque and induct him posthumously. He belongs in the museum.
Here is a correction. Still, I assume he could be removed from this list at the commissioner’s discretion.
Pete Rose was not given a "lifetime suspension." He was placed on the "permanently ineligible" list. Like Joe Jackson. People have been misstating this for over 30 years but they will REALLY start doing so now. Please don't be one of those people.
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 1, 2024
One of hardest players and toughest players to play the game and he played every day too. No trips to the IL for the sniffles or the need to have a day off. A true blue collar player.
A real shame he couldn’t have conducted himself better off the field but I enjoyed watching him play.
I also think Rose the player should be in the hall.
There are others already there who were worse human beings.
It’s the baseball hall of fame not the great human being hall of fame.
Was surprised to see he passed as I just met him two months ago at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. I had him sign an extra 1966 Topps card I had. Even asked him what position he liked best to play and he told me first base was his favorite.
One of the fiercest competitors you will ever see. Unfortunately his personal character was greatly lacking. My only hesitation with his Hall of Fame status is betting on his own team. That crosses the line. Had he bet the horses, or other sports, or anything other than in games in which he had some influence on the outcome I would be fine with him in the Hall.
To me pete rose is a hall of famer. Not as a manager but as a player, he easily belongs. There should be a distinction.
I’d say the all-time hits leader belongs in the HOF. It’s just a shame that he placed himself in a position in which he won’t be around to see his career honored with induction into Cooperstown. We all pay a price for bad choices and I’m reasonably certain Pete would say that wagering on baseball was the worst choice he ever made.
“Pete Rose was not given a ‘lifetime suspension.’ He was placed on the ‘permanently ineligible’ list. Like Joe Jackson. People have been misstating this for over 30 years but they will REALLY start doing so now. Please don’t be one of those people.”
Pete Rose is indeed on MLB’s “permanently ineligible” list. But that fact by itself, without context, is profoundly incomplete.
What happened was, after several years as Cincy manager, Rose was called in to Commissioner Bart Giamatti’s office and shown the evidence of his gambling on dozens if not hundreds of major league games while managing the Reds. And a negotiated settlement was reached, between Giamatti and Rose.
The evidence against Rose was so overwhelming and humiliating that Rose agreed to the “permanently ineligible” ban on the condition that Giamatti not release the details of MLB’s investigation to the general public.
Think about that. Rose agreed to the ban. Didn’t fight for something less — and anything would have been less. Why on earth would Pete Rose willingly agree to the most severe punishment possible?
Why? Because if it had become public knowledge, the shame of betting AGAINST his own team was unbearable. Which is effectively what Rose did every single time that he didn’t bet ON his own team. Rose bet through a mafia middleman, so the mafia knew when Rose did and much more importantly didn’t bet on the Reds. And when he didn’t bet on them, that was Rose’s way of signalling the mob that he wasn’t trying 100% to win that day.
A major league manager gambling on the outcome of any game he’s involved in simply contaminates his entire thought process — especially when he’s not trying to win.
It gets cold in Cincy in the winter. But it never gets cold where Pete is now.
I agree, Bob. There’s no nice way to say it. What he did places into question the credibility of every outcome of every game and has the genuine potential to relegate the game of Big League baseball to a status not at all unlike that of WWE Superstar Wrestling.
Pete had that mentality that some who are gifted, talented, or more fortunate than most in that he felt he was infallible. Unfortunately the thing that got him was compulsive gambling, which is the number one no-no in sports if you bet on a game in which you participate.
But he is still represented in the Hall with memorabilia, and the records are official in the books. His legacy will have to be satisfied with that. I am firmly on the side of him not being formally enshrined, but am good with his accomplishments being recognized in other ways.
And personally, I still like the guy as a player. I loved getting his cards as a kid and he was entertaining to watch. When he was a free agent after the ‘78 season, I was surprised that the Reds would let him walk. There were some rumors at the time that the Cardinals were interested in him, and I was hoping we would sign him.
Sorry when the whole league has embraced gambling in the pursuit of greed, its hypocrisy to keep dancing on petes grave. Not any different with the steroids, when the powers that be looked the other way when it benefitted them but were quick to pounce on the other side of it when it became clear fans werent hapoy with the cheating. League wants to do the right thing, put pete automatically in the hall and put the steroid users that were sure hofs in there. Reference what rose and the others did and move on. I was totally against the cheaters back in the day but when i learned how the league turned a blind eye pretty much encouraging it, i changed my tune The league didnt pay any price for their culpability and neither should the players.
“Sorry when the whole league has embraced gambling in the pursuit of greed, its hypocrisy to keep dancing on Pete’s grave.”
I understand why some people feel this way, certainly.
But for me, the fact that professional sports leagues like MLB have shamelessly crawled into the sewer with the human scum who run DraftKings and FanDuel, has no effect on my view of what Pete Rose did some four decades ago. He knew the Cardinal rule. He broke it. Innumerable times.As for the other stuff, I agree 100% with these words of BikeMike’s:
“But he is still represented in the Hall with memorabilia, and the records are official in the books. His legacy will have to be satisfied with that. I am firmly on the side of him not being formally enshrined, but am good with his accomplishments being recognized in other ways. And personally, I still like the guy as a player. I loved getting his cards as a kid and he was entertaining to watch.”
Well bob. Ill say. You still choose to watch mlb so in a way you are supporting that which you hate. Sure pete rose committed a major sin but the league has itself basically did the same thing by tying itself with these gambling sites. All for money, same as with pete im sure. So why does pete have to be the fall guy. Might have made some sense back then but not anymore. But really not if you want to go back a little further in time. Back to the black sox scandal. Sure most of those guys threw the games but why did they do that. It was because of greed. But what was part of the reason for the greed. Part of the reason, maybe the biggest part was because the owners and hence the league was underpaying the players and profiting off their labor. Back to greed by the mlb. I understand why its not a good look for a manager to bet on baseball particularly his team. Then suspend pete rose the manager. Pete rose the player wasnt guilty of anything like that far as we know. Pete always played to win. Its funny head coaches get voted in the hall but their individual hitting and defensive stats if they have them, werent the reason. So why cant pete rose the player get in and leave pete rose the manager out not that he would deserve it for that anyway. Just my two cents or maybe a buck nickel.
RIP Pete. Rose made some mistakes, no question. He was one of the best to ever play the game. Now everyone bets on baseball.
It’s understandable that people are leery of big ticket athletic organizations embracing gambling. I don’t like it myself. But after the 2018 federal ruling that sports should be an open market for legalized gambling, the genie was let out of the bottle.
However, participants still cannot be allowed to bet. That is the difference here. Pete bet on games he had an influence on. It is no different than insider trading. Everyone can buy and sell public company securities, but participants in a company that have inside information cannot use that to profit on a purchase or sale. Players, managers, coaches cannot use their “inside” influence on a sporting event without accepting the consequences. And the historical precedent is that the consequences are serious.
The rub here is that he was made permanently ineligible not given a lifetime ban. That means no plaque, but as noted, that isn’t keeping him from being included in exhibits. I can live with that.
Gambling on baseball is a horrible thing and should be roundly condemned and punished … unless of course MLB finds a way to profit from it. Pete Rose died of an acute case hypocrisy.
Gambling on baseball isn’t always bad. I’d suggest that wagering on baseball games is an effective way to lose weight as a consequence of an abundance of missed meals…
One more take on Pete Rose.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41539984/mlb-pete-rose-dies-83-legacy-hall-fame-life-ban
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