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…but the MVP of that Series was Pete Rose... I WAS FASCINATED.

More than any other player, any All-Star, any phenom, or any Milwaukee Brewer, Pete Rose was the player who caused my illogical love for the game of baseball.

You can't compare Rose to the great talents of this game, no one would ever take him over Cobb, or Ruth or Aaron. This guy didn't hit for power, wasn't all that big, didn't run particularly fast, and he wasn't exactly flashy on defense. Still, THIS is the guy with more hits than anyone, on top of that, this guy is in the top six ever in games, at bats, times on base, singles, doubles, runs scored and total bases. How can that be possible, how can a guy with this set of skills possibly be the guy who has appeared in more games than anyone?

The answer to that question comes with one simple understanding - Pete Rose had to win every time, all the time. No player I have ever watched has even come close to the all-out intensity Pete played with. This guy couldn't even take his foot off the gas in the All-Star game, blowing up Ray Fosse in a collision at the plate, forever altering Fosse's career. Why? Fosse was between Rose and home plate, that's why. Somebody was trying to prevent Rose from scoring a run, All-Star game or not, that somebody was going to have to win a war to record that out, this particular baserunner would have knocked his own mother out of the basepath if he had to.

Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron were all far more talented than Pete Rose, and all of them played their entire (or almost their entire) career in the National League, yet it is Rose who has the longest hitting streak in NL history. Pete hit safely in 44 straight games in 1978, which is the closest anyone has come to DiMaggio. Once again, this was not the guy with the quickest bat, this was the guy who simply had to have it. Rose lusted for the spotlight, he craved personal glorification, the day to day glitz of a long hitting streak was exactly the type of thing that really spoke to him. There was no question, once Pete got close to a new league record, it would be his.

Pete's first stint with the Reds lasted sixteen seasons, during which Rose won Rookie of the Year, two gold gloves, and an MVP, with the team appearing in the World Series four times - winning twice. With success like that, you would think Pete would have stayed home, but he did not. Following the '78 season Rose signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

At this point, the Phillies were near the top of the National League, but could not get past the Reds, then the Dodgers. While the Phils had won three consecutive NL East titles, they had lost in the playoffs all three years, winning just two total games in three best-of-fives. This team had Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, possibly the best power hitter and the best starting pitcher in the league at the time, but something was missing. Rose was 37 at the time, but was still given a four-year contract, the team believed his intensity would be contagious and would be the thing that turned talent into a championship. It took two seasons, but they were right. In 1980 the Phillies won their first ever World Series, and there was Pete, playing in all 162 games as he turned 39.

After five years with the Phillies, and a brief tour with the Montreal Expos, Rose came home, playing his final 2 ˝ seasons for the Reds. With his playing days finally over at age 45, player/coach Rose was able to turn his attention solely to managing the Reds. At last, some idle time for the game's most intense competitor, what could be possibly go wrong?

PETE ROSE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY CAN NEVER BE ALLOWED INTO THE HALL OF FAME, here's why...

Baseball's "Rule 21" is posted in all clubhouses, this rule contains seven clauses, labeled A-G.

Clause D states- "BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club official or employee who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.

Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible."

As I said, this rule is posted in every major league clubhouse at all times, it has been for decades - Pete Rose knew it, Bart Giamatti knew it, John Dowd knew it. This is the ultimate sin among ballplayers, from the days of Kennesaw Mountain Landis and the "Black Sox" of Chicago, this rule has been held sacred by Major League Baseball. You can be suspended for substance abuse multiple times and still maintain eligibility, just ask Steve Howe. You can squander Hall of Fame talent, and be convicted for tax evasion while you're still an active player and maintain eligibility, just ask Darryl Strawberry.

If you bet on baseball, you're out for a year, if you bet on a game you're involved in, you're out for good... period. Pete Rose did that.

March 20, 1989- Baseball announces it is investigating Pete Rose for "serious allegations."

May 9, 1989- Special Investigator John Dowd delivers his report to Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti.

August 24, 1989- Pete Rose voluntarily agrees to a lifetime ban from baseball. The agreement Rose signs with Giamatti contains no formal findings, but Giamatti states he believes Rose bet on baseball. Later that same day, Rose denies it.

September 1, 1989- Giamatti dies of a heart attack at age 51.

February 4, 1991- In a unanimous decision, the Board of Directors of the Baseball Hall of Fame vote to bar any player who is ineligible from the ballot. This means Rose must be reinstated by the Commissioner no later than December, 2005 in order to be elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

September, 1997- Rose applies for reinstatement.

October, 1999- Rose is allowed to participate in the MasterCard All-Century team celebration at the World Series. Rose receives the longest ovation of any player.

August 6, 2001- In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, former Rose friend Tommy Gioiosa states that Rose bet on baseball, used a corked bat, and was involved with drug trafficking.

January, 2004- As baseball is set to announce the election of Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley to the Hall of Fame, Rose admits he bet on baseball.

For fourteen years Pete Rose insisted that he never bet on baseball. He stated that in a book, he stated that on countless radio and TV shows, he stated that every time he set up shop somewhere to sell the stuff he signed. Despite exceedingly strong evidence of his guilt, millions believed and supported Rose, and millions more believed he should be in the Hall of Fame no matter what. Then, when there was buck to be made, Pete came clean and admitted his guilt…just in time to steal the spotlight from the Hall of Fame election, and just in time to sell some books. OOF! A total sucker punch to anyone who had backed him.

Whatever credibility Pete had left vanished in an instant. This guy was a great player, but this guy is also a great liar. The same almost supernatural will to win that earned him a fortune and the admiration of millions has now led him to exile. It's amazing to me - this man overachieved at the highest level possible in his profession, becoming exceedingly wealthy and popular, only to destroy himself through the use of the exact same traits. If any baseball player's life could be used as a cautionary tale for children, perhaps this is the one.

This particular Hall of Fame Trial sparks very powerful emotion for me. I still love Pete Rose, as he once was. I still love the highlight of him diving headfirst into the third base bag during the '75 Series, hair flopping, helmet falling away, that snarl on his face as the umpire ruled him safe. I still love the play he made in the '80 Series, catching that foul pop off the glove of Bob Boone. I still see him sprinting to first after each base on balls, or spiking the ball on the turf at Philly after the final out of an inning. I still know him as the only player ever named to the All-Star game at five different positions.

Now though, I also know Pete bet on baseball while he was manager of the Reds, possibly while he was still playing. I also know Pete can look me in the eye and lie to me, passionately, convincingly, for years. I know that Pete bet on games while he was fully aware that he faced permanent ineligibility, he read those signs in those clubhouses a million times, then did it anyway.

When it comes to Pete, I feel like a parent whose child wants you to let him ditch his vegetables to eat more candy. I want to say yes, to make that child happy and see that big smile…but I know I just can't this time.

I want Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame, I truly, passionately wish it could be that way, but for me I know it cannot. My vote for Rose is no, actually, I feel as though Pete cast the ballot for me, he decided what I had to do a long time ago, and I'm stuck with it.

"I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit in order to play baseball" -Pete Rose

"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts. By choosing not to come to a hearing before me, and by choosing not to proffer any testimony or evidence contrary to the evidence and information contained in the report of the Special Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr Rose has accepted baseball's ultimate sanction, lifetime ineligibility." -A. Bartlett Giamatti