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    • Cincinnati Reds, MLB, Alex Rodriguez, Wade Boggs and others ‘heartbroken’ over Pete Rose’s death
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    Cincinnati Reds, MLB, Alex Rodriguez, Wade Boggs and others ‘heartbroken’ over Pete Rose’s death

    Vaseline Posted on

    The baseball world lost a legendary, but controversial figure on Monday with the death of Pete Rose.

    Rose had more hits than any player in baseball history, accumulating 4,239 hits during 19 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, in addition to stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos. He is one of only two players (with Ty Cobb) to amass 4,000 hits during his career.

    Yet Rose was banned from the sport for life in 1989 for betting on matches while manager of the Reds, even betting on his own team’s matches. That prevented him from working for an MLB team and made him ineligible to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

    Shortly after reports of Rose’s death circulated among news outlets and social media, the Reds posted a message saying the franchise was “heartbroken” by the passing of a team icon.

    The Phillies praised Rose for “his perseverance and hustle,” and praised Rose for being part of the team’s 1980 World Series championship team.

    Despite being banned from the sport, Major League Baseball recognized the legacy Rose left in the game.

    ESPN baseball analyst Eduardo Perez, whose father Tony was a teammate of Rose on the legendary “Big Red Machine” teams of the 1970s, confirmed the news when he appeared on “SportsCenter” after Monday’s doubleheader between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

    Longtime Reds announcer Thom Brennaman – whose father Marty was the team’s play-by-play voice during the end of Rose’s Reds career – paid tribute.

    “I had the pleasure of meeting Pete Rose when I was 10 years old in Tampa,” said Brennaman, who covered the Reds when Rose was manager. “He was the same to me as a kid as he was when I announced his games. And he never turned his back on a friend when my career was in tatters. He was just a great guy to be around.”

    Marty Brennaman expressed his feelings through Cincinnati sportscaster Jeremy Rauch.

    “I can’t believe he’s gone. My two best baseball friends are gone,” Brennaman told Rauch. “First Joe Morgan and now Pete. It’s hard for me to get a handle on it at the moment.’

    Cincinnati sports talk radio host Mo Egger spoke on behalf of the city and its fan base, who considered Rose one of their own, regardless of how much his status may have been affected. He was a hero to so many people growing up

    “Pete Rose means a lot to a lot of people in this town. You may understand why. You may not understand why. But he does. For better or for worse,” Egger posted on social media.

    “Whatever the second half of his life represented – and it has made his legacy very complex – Pete, more than anyone else, is identified with a period in Cincinnati that still means a lot to a lot of people here. And part of a lot of people’s youth just passed away.”

    Another sports icon, Magic Johnson, praised Rose for “helping me fall in love with baseball.”

    Alex Rodriguez, who worked with Rose on Fox’s MLB studio show during the postseason, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” over his death.

    “He always brought a smile to my face when we worked together at Fox,” Rodriguez said. “He was (a) true original and 1 of 1. No one loved baseball more than Pete and I will miss him terribly.”

    Famed slugger Jose Canseco, MLB’s first 40-40 player, was one of the first former players to express condolences on social media for Rose’s death.

    Another acclaimed hitter, Wade Boggs, who had 3,010 hits during his baseball career, called Rose his “idol and friend.”

    Many in the sports media relayed the news while offering their condolences, including ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, New York Post reporter Jon Heyman and longtime baseball writers Jose de Jesus Ortiz and Jayson Stark.

    “There has never been another player like Pete Rose in my life,” Greenberg wrote, posting a famous photo of Rose sliding headfirst into second base. “This is how I will remember him. He played the game harder than anyone ever has. Few athletes leave a more complicated legacy.”

    “Today, let’s thank Charlie Hustle,” he added, “for playing the way we always dreamed if given the opportunity.”

    “Pete Rose was the most enchanting baseball figure I ever covered,” wrote Stark, an acclaimed writer for ESPN and The Athletic. “Just like we couldn’t stop watching him when he played, we couldn’t stop talking about him all the years since. It saddens me that he never had his Hall of Fame induction.

    ‘But that is largely up to him. He had opportunities to change his story,” he continued. “He just never took the road to make that happen. So RIP to the Hit King. Thank you for the pleasure of watching you play. I will never forget the memories you left us with.”

    Louisville head basketball coach Pat Kelsey said Rose was his childhood hero and an inspiration.

    “Pete Rose epitomized effort and hustle. The ultimate competitor,” Kelsey wrote. “He was my childhood hero. My inspiration to dive for loose balls, sprint to first base on a walk, and play every game like it was my last. Rest in Peace Charlie Hustle. The Hall of Fame is worthless without you!”

    Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio also issued a statement following Rose’s death.

    “In 1963, our pastor Father Bertke took my father and me to the Reds’ Opening Day. It happened to be Pete Rose’s first game for the Reds,” DeWine wrote. “Fran and our family have had the pleasure of watching Pete play for the Reds hundreds of times over the years. No one has ever worked harder or hustled more than Pete Rose. No one has ever gotten more out of his natural talent than Pete Rose. a real pleasure to watch him play baseball.”

    Several tributes and eulogies for Rose note his complicated legacy. Maybe that’s why there aren’t even more accolades for Rose online. At least not yet.

    A ban by Major League Baseball could make it difficult — or inconvenient — for many sports organizations to comment on Rose’s death. Perhaps that will change in the coming days as news of Rose’s death becomes more widely known.

    Regardless of whether Rose is officially welcomed into baseball, he is undoubtedly a part of baseball history whose career is a cherished memory for many fans and contemporaries.

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