Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds legend and all-time hit king, dies at 83

The Cincinnati Reds confirmed the news, which was first reported by by TMZ. Rose’s agent, Ryan Fiterman, told TMZ, “The family is asking for privacy at this time.”

The Associated Press also reported that Rose’s death was confirmed by the medical examiner in Clark County, Nevada. Rose was found by a family member, according to the AP.

Among those issuing statements after the death of Rose was Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“Fran and I and our family are deeply saddened to learn of Pete Rose’s passing,” DeWine said. “In 1963, our parish priest Father Bertke took my dad and me to the Reds’ Opening Day game. It happened to be Pete Rose’s first game for the Reds. Fran and our family had the joy of watching Pete play for the Reds hundreds of times over the years. No one ever worked harder or hustled more than Pete Rose. No one ever got more out of his natural talent than Pete Rose. It was a true joy to watch him play baseball. Fran and I extended our sincerest condolences to Pete’s children and family.”

In another statement, Bob Castellini, Reds Principal Owner and Managing Partner, said, “Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing. He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him. Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete, and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country. We must never forget what he accomplished.”

Rose, nicknamed “Charlie Hustle, made his big-league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award, and finished his career with the Reds in 1986. He played 19 of his 24 seasons in the big leagues with the Reds.

Rose became the hit king on Sept. 11, 1985, with his 4,192nd hit, passing Ty Cobb in the record book with a single to center field at Riverfront Stadium. Rose broke down in tears when his son Pete Rose Jr. joined him on second base as the crowd celebrated the feat.

“I was all right until I looked up in the air and saw my dad and Ty Cobb up there,” Rose said after the game. “Regardless of what you think, Ty is up there. He was behind my dad because my dad was in a front-row seat. I’m a tough son of a ... but I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t have anybody to talk to. They even took first base and I didn’t have anything to kick. I can’t explain my feelings because I never had feelings like that before. I guess I started thinking about how many years I’ve been playing, how many hits I’ve accomplished. I don’t know where the 23 years went.”

Rose finished his career the following season with 4,256 hits, which remains the baseball record. He was a player/manager for the Reds from 1984-86.

Rose also remains baseball’s all-time leader in games played (3,256) and plate appearances (15,890). He ranks sixth in runs scored (2,165) and ninth in total bases (5,752). He was a 17-time All-Star who won the National League MVP award in 1973.

Rose helped lead the Reds, known as the Big Red Machine throughout the 1970s, to World Series championships in 1975 and 1976. He won another World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980. He also managed many of the players who led the Reds to their most recent World Series victory in 1990.

Rose was managing the Reds when he was banned for baseball for life in 1989 for betting on the game. While the ban kept him from joining the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Reds inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2016. They retired his No. 14 that same year.

After denying he gambled on baseball for years, Rose admitted he bet on baseball in 2004 in a book, “Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,” and in a sit-down interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson.

Rose made several attempts over the years to get back into the game, even meeting with Commissioner Rob Manfred before the All-Star Game in Cincinnati in 2015 and pleading his case for reinstatement, which was denied. At the time, Manfred said allowing Rose back into baseball “presents an unacceptable risk of future violation by him … and thus the credibility of our sport.”

Rose tried again in 2020 and in 2022 when he wrote Manfred a letter in which he apologized for his gambling and asked again to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

“I also know that I disappointed many Reds fans and baseball fans,” Rose wrote. “Besides spending time with my kids and my partner, there’s nothing that made me happier than playing in front of fans. That I let them down and brought shame to the sport we all love is something I think about every day.”

The Reds also unveiled a statue of Rose, depicting him in the middle of his famous head-first slide, outside Great American Ball Park in 2017.

The death of Rose, four years after the passing of his Big Red Machine teammate Joe Morgan, saddened Marty Brennaman, the retired Hall of Fame broadcaster who was the play-by-play voice of the Reds for decades.

“I really don’t know what to say,” Brennaman wrote on Instagram. “I can’t believe he is gone. My two best baseball friends gone. First Joe Morgan and now Pete. Right now, it’s hard for me to come to grips with it.”