Career Highlights

1963 NL Rookie of the Year
1973 NL MVP
1975 World Series MVP
2 Gold Gloves
1 Silver Slugger
17 All-Stars

Led his league in

7 times
Base hits

5 times
Doubles
Games Played

4 times
Runs Scored

3 times
Batting Average

2 times
On Base Percentage

Career Rankings

Base Hits- 4,256 1st All-Time
Games Played- 3,562 1st All-Time
At Bats- 14,053 1st All-Time
Singles- 3,215 1st All-Time
Times On Base- 5,929 1st All-Time
Doubles- 746 2nd All-Time
Runs Scored- 2165 5th All-Time
Total Bases- 5752 6th All-Time

Banned from baseball for life- August 24, 1989
Sentenced to 5 months in prison for tax evasion related to cash payments at baseball card shows- July 19,1990
Confessed to betting on baseball (as his book "My Prison Without Bars" is set for release) January 5, 2004

Peter Edward Rose... if you want to start a heated argument among otherwise friendly baseball fans, just walk into a room and say those three words.

Nineteen years ago Pete Rose broke one of baseball's most prestigious records, passing Ty Cobb for first place ever in base hits with an opposite field single off San Diego's Eric Show. Pete cried as he hugged his son at first base that night, engulfed in a thunderous ovation from his hometown fans. "Charlie Hustle" had just placed himself a few feet below Henry Aaron, near the peak of Mount Olympus. To ask whether Pete would ever make the Hall of Fame could not have seemed more preposterous then, with 4,192 hits, this man not only had a plaque under construction in Cooperstown, he had a key to the village and an open line of credit.

PETE ROSE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME, here's why...

When I was nearing my 7th birthday, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run on the inside of my parents' TV, I was fascinated. Shortly after that, I discovered radio broadcasts of the Milwaukee Brewers- through the analysis of Bob Uecker I began to learn about this game, I was fascinated. Then, in October of 1975, I paid attention to the World Series for the first time. Fate locked me in as a baseball lifer, that World Series was one for the ages, with the Reds and Red Sox going a full seven games at the pace of an Ali-Frazier fight. Carlton Fisk waived his home run fair, Luis Tiant twirled in all directions, Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Carl Yastrzemski were all there