The POP-EXPOSE ‘Pete Rose’ by Mitchell Smith!
Born April 14, 1941 in Cincinnati, OH. He played Baseball and Football at Western Hills High School. He was a running back for the JV team, but did not make Varsity so he focused on Baseball. He struggled in School with his grades, but eventually would play baseball for Class AA team sponsored by Frisch’s Big Boy of Lebanon, OH in the Dayton Amateur League. He played Catcher, Short and Second Base, and had .626 batting average. Pete’s Uncle was a scout for the Red’s and he convinced them to give Pete a chance. Pete joined the Red’s and he got a break when starting second base Don Blasingame was injured. Shortly after Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees nicknamed Rose “Charlie Hustle”, and the head first slide is named after Rose.
Rose won MLB Rookie of the year in 1963. After his Rookie year he entered the Army Reserve, he was assistant to the sergeant and helped train the baseball team. He was part of the Big Red Machine that went undefeated in the playoffs in 1976 and won the World Series. Rose went on to a remarkable career that was tainted by betting on games. He played with the Philly’s, Expose, then went back to the Reds where he also became the manager. Despite all of his records on the field he has remained out of the Hall of Fame do to his gambling, and remains a hot debate on whether it is time to let him in or not. He may never get in while he is alive but one day I think he will get in to the Hall of Fame, just take a look at his numbers.
• Major League records:
Most career winning games played – 1,972
Most career games played – 3,562
Only player to play at least 500 games at five different positions – 1B (939), LF (671), 3B (634), 2B (628), RF (595)
Most career at bats – 14,053
Most career singles – 3,215
Most career hits – 4,256
Most career outs – 10,328
Most career runs by a switch hitter – 2,165
Most career doubles by a switch hitter – 746
Most career walks by a switch hitter – 1,566
Most career total bases by a switch hitter – 5,752
Most seasons of 200 or more hits – 10 (shared)
Most consecutive seasons of 100 or more hits – 23
Most consecutive seasons with 600 or more at bats – 13 (1968–1980)
Most seasons with 600 at bats – 17
Most seasons with 150 or more games played – 17
Most seasons with 100 or more games played – 23
National League records:
Most years played – 24
Most consecutive years played – 24
Most career runs – 2,165
Most career doubles – 746
Most career games with 5 or more hits – 10
Modern (post-1900) NL record for longest consecutive-game hitting streak NL – 44
Modern record for most consecutive hitting streaks of 20 or more games – 7
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