Pete Rose , baseball’s all-time hits leader, died of natural causes this week at the age of 83. He was one of the greatest baseball players in history, and his stats back that up: three World Series titles, 17 All-Star appearances, and a record-breaking 4,256 hits. His moniker on the field was Charlie Hustle, and he was one of the most well-known and recognizable players in the history of the sport.
But Rose is perhaps best known by the public for what he did off the field: He bet on baseball, including on his own team. As the manager of the Reds in the late 1980s, an investigation found, he gambled on Major League games, a violation of the league’s “Rule 21,” and he was banished from baseball for life. He spent the next 30-plus years fighting not only his banishment, but the league’s refusal to consider him for the Hall of Fame.
As we mourn Rose’s death and reflect on his life and career, it’s natural to wonder: Would Rose have fared any better if he had broken Rule 21 today? Major League Baseball is a far cry from what it was in the 1980s with regard to gambling . After the repeal of the Professional Athlete and Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, sports gambling has spread across the country, and professional leagues like the MLB have formed partnerships with gambling companies. Fans are inundated with advertisements encouraging them to bet on games both during television broadcasts as well as in the ballparks themselves.
Some stadiums even have on-premise.