The Cincinnati Reds’ legendary Pete Rose breathed his last on September 30th at the age of 83. Despite having a tumultuous MLB career, Rose — also known as “Charlie Hustle” — has a lot of tributes pouring in that even includes McLaren CEO Zak Brown. Brown has posted on Instagram about possessing Rose’s record-breaking bat and his Rookie of the Year trophy while remembering the MLB veteran.
Brown wrote in the caption, “Pete Rose. ‘Charlie Hustle’. The Hit King. His career ended in controversy but what a player! Fierce, gritty and determined. Held the record for most career hits and was a 3 x World Series winner among other accolades. His record-breaking bat and Rookie of the Year trophy are two important pieces in my collection. RIP”
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Rose held the record for the most career hits (4,256). His playing career was rather stellar but it was also marred by controversy that Brown mentioned in his post. Apparently, after returning to the Reds in a management role, Rose got caught in a betting scandal.
This compromised his chances of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite being one of the record-breakers and a three-time World Series winner. The controversy led to a ban for the Reds’ former switch hitter. If it wasn’t for this, Rose’s baseball career on the field was nothing short of stellar.
Pete Rose – a prolific hitter
Besides breaking the all-time hits record back then, Rose had several moments in the limelight during his MLB career. Besides Cincinnati, he also played for the Montreal Expos and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Among his memorable and controversial moments on the field, Rose had a three-home run game at the Shea Stadium against the New York Mets in 1978. Playing for the Reds, he produced five hits in the game with homers in the fourth, fifth, and eighth innings to guide his team to a 14-7 victory.
And while he played most of his career at Cincinnati, his 4,000th career hit came when he played for the Expos in 1984. It was against the Phillies when he recorded a double in Montreal’s opening home game to become only the second player in MLB history to record 4,000 hits.
