MLB hit king Pete Rose dies at age 83

LOS ANGELES – Baseball’s all-time scoring star Pete Rose has reportedly died at the age of 83.

First reported by TMZ and later confirmed by the Cincinnati Reds, Rose died Monday at his home in Las Vegas. An ABC News report, citing the coroner in Clark County, Nevada, also reported Rose’s death shortly after TMZ’s bombshell news story.

During his playing days, Rose was nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” and holds the MLB all-time record for most hits with 4,256 and 3,562 games played. Rose’s playing time in the MLB lasted 24 years, mostly with the Reds, but five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and half a season with the Montreal Expos before finishing his career in Cincinnati.

Rose was banned from baseball in the late 1980s for betting on games as manager of the Reds. Due to the permanent suspension, Rose was never inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame despite his on-field success as a player.

In addition to admitting that he had bet on games, the Phillies also briefly distanced themselves from Rose in 2017 amid allegations that he had sex with a minor as a player. In 2022, when the Phillies brought Rose back to the field to celebrate the franchise’s 1980 World Series championship, baseball’s hit king dodged questions about the statutory rape allegations.

During the Ippei Mizuhara cheating scandal that came to light in March 2024, Rose was asked about internet rumors surrounding a possible bet from Mizuhara’s long-time friend and victim Shohei Ohtani.

Rose responded playfully to allegations that Ohtani was involved in a betting scandal.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, I wish I had an interpreter,” Rose said in the video. “I would have gotten away scot-free.”

As for Ohtani, federal investigators ultimately cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing, saying the Los Angeles Dodgers star was not involved in the gambling.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.