NEW YORK — Pete Rose, baseball's career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, has died. He was 83. Stephanie Wheatley, a spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada, confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner that Rose died Monday.
Wheatley said his cause and manner of death had not yet been determined. For fans who came of age in the 1960s and '70s, no player was more exciting than the Cincinnati Reds' No. 14, "Charlie Hustle," the brash superstar with the shaggy hair, puggish nose and muscular forearms.
At the dawn of artificial surfaces, divisional play and free agency, Rose was old school, a conscious, dirt-stained throwback to baseball's early days. Millions could never forget him crouched and scowling at the plate, running full speed to first even after drawing a walk, or sprinting for the next base and diving headfirst into the bag. Major League Baseball, which banished him in 1989, issued a brief statement expressing condolences and noting his "greatness, grit and determination on the field of play.
" Reds principal owner and managing partner Bob Castellini said in a statement that Rose was "one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen" and added: "We must never forget what he accomplished." A 17-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Rose played on three World Series winners. He was the National League MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP two years later.
He hold.
