April 8th, 1963.
Pete Rose makes his debut for his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.
Rose was a 21-year-old kid who could switch hit and played like his soul was on fire. A month prior to his debut in a spring training game, the Reds’ starter at second base, Don Blasingame, pulled a muscle in his groin. Rose was afforded an opportunity to start, and he took advantage. Later on in spring training during a game against the Yankees, the all-time great pitcher Whitey Ford gave Rose a nickname for his hard play, “Charlie Hustle.” The motives for this nickname came as a result of Rose sprinting to first after being walked, and attempting to climb the fence on a Mickey Mantle home run that left the ballpark by 100 feet.
The tenacity that Pete Rose showed on the diamond translated into instant success. In his debut season in 1963, he tallied 170 hits and 101 runs scored, winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award receiving 85% of the votes. However after his promising debut, Rose decided to join the US Army Reserves where he would be stationed in Fort Knox for 6 months. He graduated the United States Army Basic Training on January 18th, 1964. A week later, he married his wife Karolyn.
After a 1964 season to forget, Rose came back in the 1965 season with a vengeance. He lead the league in hits (209) in the regular season and finished 6th in MVP voting. This was just the tip of the iceberg for “Charlie Hustle,” who went onto cement himself as the most polarizing player of the 20th century. Subsequently after his 209 hit campaign in 1965, Rose followed that up with nine more consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits and a .300 average.
On September 11th, 1985, Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb on the all-time list hit to be crowned the “Hit King.” Rose’s last playing season was in 1986 with the Cincinnati Reds. The statistics in Pete Rose’s career go unrivaled by most as he possesses the most hits in MLB History, most at-bats, and is 6th in runs scored.
In 1989, reports surfaced that would forever taint the legacy Pete Rose left on the game of baseball. Rose was accused of gambling on games while he was playing for the Cincinnati Reds. After years of denial, Rose came clean about his involvement. Rose had been betting on games, but not throwing them, rather betting on his own team to win. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when one considers this is the same man who sprints to first after walks.
Pete Rose was effectively banned from baseball and has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The manner in which he gambled was never truly considered by the MLB and their writers. Baseball gets someone like Pete Rose once every century, yet everyone responsible for his punishment doesn’t see who he really is. Rose was the most competitive player in the clubhouse in any ballpark he stepped into, and did whatever was necessary to ensure his team won. His gambling habits, while frowned upon, should have no impact on his Hall of Fame status whatsoever.
In June 2015, Pete Rose’s reinstatement bid was rejected by commissioner Robert Manfred. This effectively squashed any opportunity for a Hall of Fame bid and some now wonder if he will ever have a chance for reinstatement. Major League Baseball dropped the ball on this one. With all of the steroid users that are on the Hall of Fame ballot every year, it’s inexcusable for Pete Rose not to be. Rose played the game with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind and has been rewarded for none of it. What the MLB should actually consider is that Pete Rose never tried to lose for his own benefit, instead he played to win with the heart of a lion and the will of a champion.
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