Pete Rose, the all-time MLB leader in hits and games played and an embattled figure who was banned for life for betting on baseball, died Monday, ESPN reported. He was 83.
ESPN baseball commentator Eduardo Perez broke the news while appearing on “SportsCenter,” saying he had confirmed the news with Rose’s son.
The engine of the “Big Red Machine” for a combined 19 years with the Cincinnati Reds, Rose received the 1973 National League MVP award and helped the Reds win consecutive World Series in 1975 and 1976. He won a third title with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
He played for the Phillies (1979 to 1983) and Montreal Expos (1984) in between stints with the Reds and went on to manage Cincinnati from 1984 to 1989, the first three years as a player-manager.
No one has surpassed Rose’s totals of 4,256 hits, 3,562 games or 14,053 at-bats. He ranks sixth all-time in runs (2,165). He was a lifetime .303 hitter with 160 home runs, 746 doubles and 1,314 RBIs.
Rose famously was not allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his lifetime ban, which was handed down in 1989. He only admitted to betting on baseball in 2004, insisting he never bet against the Reds, and for years he advocated for his ban to be overturned.