Baseball fans are honoring the Hit King. The Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose died Monday at his home in Las Vegas. Rose left his sometimes controversial mark on baseball, and on the city.
Outside Great American Ball Park, there are statues of the team’s greatest players. The statue of Pete Rose, also known as Charlie Hustle to fans, has him sliding into base, headfirst. It looks like he’s flying; arms stretched out in front, his legs in the air behind him. It’s like a superhero pose, just missing the cape.
Rose was a superhero to many of the fans who turned out Monday night in the hours after his death. Joe Callison of Gahanna, Ohio, and his family were in Cincinnati for a concert, and came to the statue to pay respects.
“Just as the concert started, we got the news that Pete Rose had passed today, and he was my childhood hero.”
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Rose earned the admiration of fans. He played in the Major League for 24 years. In that time, he was an All-Star 17 times. He was on three World Series winning teams, twice with the Reds and once with the Philadelphia Phillies. He may be best remembered as the "Hit King."
By the end of his playing career, in 1986, Rose had set the record for the most hits — 4,256. He was the all-time leader in games played (3,562), at bats (14,053), and he had the most singles (3,215).
Executive Director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Rick Walls says Rose is connected to so many of the exhibits, people ask if it’s a team hall or just a museum for Rose.
“He played at the apex of Reds history. Without Pete, the Big Red Machine may not be what it was. And without the ‘75 and ‘76 teams, Cincinnati looks a little different, and I think everybody knows that," he said. "He’s a Cincinnati kid and he's baseball.”
"The Big Red Machine" was the nickname for the team that dominated baseball in the 1970s, with players like Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Pérez, Ken Griffey Senior, Dave Concepción, George Foster, and César Gerónimo. Led by Sparky Anderson, the team won six National League West Division titles, four NL Pennants, and two World Series titles.
Walls says the museum was already planning an exhibit recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1975 team. He says it’s going to take on a new meaning.
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“When we think about players returning and reunions, it always makes people think about it a little bit differently. I really feel for his teammates and his friends right now, because I know the Great Eight and the Big Four, and the Big Red Machine and those guys were so tight. To think about when they lose a piece of the team, they lose a piece of themselves, I think.”
The accusations
Rose’s career ended with accusations of gambling. In 1989, the League launched an investigation, which ended with Rose admitting there was a "factual basis" for gambling and that led to a ban from the sport.
In 1990, Rose plead guilty to two counts of tax evasion — for gambling, and for not reporting income from signing memorabilia — and was sentenced to five months in a medium security prison.
Rose himself joked about gambling. He signed baseballs with "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." In 2016, the Reds announced they'd induct him into the team's Hall of Fame, and install a statue. Rose was asked how he wanted to be portrayed.
"Well, I sure as hell don't want to be standing at Turfway in the $2 window."
In 2017, ESPN reported Rose was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in 1973. Rose admitted it happened but said she was 16, and met the age of consent in Ohio. No charges were ever filed because the statute of limitations had expired.
Fans react
The lifetime ban extended to Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, meaning Rose currently is ineligible for induction, despite holding the record for the most hits. He fought that ban for years, and talked about it at that 2016 press conference.
"I haven't given up on Cooperstown. I'm not the type that's going to give up on anything," he said.
Many fans are hopeful that because it was a "lifetime ban" that Rose's name will now be on a ballot for the Hall.
Craig Spitzfaden has a different take.
"If I was his family, I'd boycott it if they gave it to him. For one year at least, and just say you know, come talk to us next year. Why? Because he's dead, he deserves it now? Absolutely not. He deserved it after he hit those hits."
Within hours of his death, Major League Baseball released a statement extending condolences, and saluted his "greatness, grit and determination on the field of play."
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which oversees the election of players by sportswriters, by midday Tuesday had no mention of Rose's passing on its website.
