Pete Rose To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

After 4,256 career hits and a 23-year career as a player, Pete Rose will be permanently enshrined in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

A native of Cincinnati, Rose began his career with the Reds in 1963. Rose’s versatility was evident early on and the way he played earned him the nickname “Charlie Hustle”. Rose was a member of the Big Red Machine, winning the 1975 and 1976 World Series, before he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he would win another World Series title in 1980. Rose’s career would take him to Montreal, and then back to Cincinnati to finish his career as player and manager. On September 11, 1985, Rose would break one of baseball’s long-considered unbreakable records, as Rose would get his 4,192^nd career hit, surpassing Ty Cobb on the all-time hit list.

After retiring as a player in 1986, Rose stayed on as the Reds manager until 1989, when an MLB investigation found that Pete Rose had violated the strict rules on gambling in the clubhouse. Commissioner at the time, Bart Giamatti, banned Rose for life. Pete Rose would deny these allegations for years, especially during an interview with Jim Gray at the 1999 All-Star Game. Rose would finally come clean regarding his betting on baseball in 2004. Rose appealed to both former commissioner Bud Selig and current commissioner Rob Manfred to allow him back into baseball, where he could be formally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, Manfred once again denied the appeal of Rose.

Throughout the history of their franchise Hall of Fame, the Cincinnati Reds were never allowed to induct Rose either, though he was honored frequently. This year however, the Reds announced their Hall of Fame Class of 2016, a one-member class with Pete Rose finally being recognized in his hometown. Beyond his induction into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, the Reds will be retiring Rose’s number 14.

While it seems that Pete Rose’s likelihood of getting inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame seem to slip further away, baseball’s oldest franchise will now get to honor one of their greatest players and favorite sons in a tangible way.

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