Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s hit king who later became a pariah for gambling in the game, has died at the age of 83, the medical examiner in Clark County, Nevada, confirmed to ABC News on Monday.
Rose was found at her home by a family member, according to the medical examiner. There were no signs of foul play.
The coroner will investigate to determine the cause and manner of death.
Outfielder Pete Rose #14 of the Cincinnati Reds salutes the crowd after surpassing Ty Cobb with 4192 hits that came against San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show on September 11, 1985 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
Focus On Sports/Getty Images, FILE
The medical examiner told ABC News that Rose was not under the care of a doctor when she died, and that the scene is under investigation.
The coroner will investigate to determine the cause and manner of death.
ABC News has reached Rose’s rep.
In this December 15, 2015, file photo, former baseball player and manager Pete Rose speaks at a news conference in Las Vegas.
Mark J. Terrill / AP, FILE
Rose brought a workmanlike attitude to America’s pastime and won many fans to hustle on the field. At the end of his 24-year career, 19 of them were with the Cincinnati Reds, who held the record for most career hits, as well as games played, plate appearances and at-bats. He was also a 17-time All-Star, 1973 NL MVP and 1963 Rookie of the Year.
He also won three World Series – two with the Cincinnati “Big Red Machine” club in 1975 and 1976, and the third with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
But Rose will always be remembered as much for being banned for life from the MLB in 1989 for gambling in games when he was managing the Reds.
With Rose suspicious, new MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti commissioned an investigation led by John Dowd, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, in April 1989. In June, an alarming report was released, which listed at least 52 bets on Reds games in 1987. The first season as only manager after being a player/manager for three seasons. Bets total thousands of dollars per day, according to the Dowd Report.
In this June 3, 1981, file photo, Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies moves to third base during a baseball game against the New York Mets in Philadelphia.
Rusty Kennedy/AP, FILE
Faced with several options, Rose involuntarily accepted a place in the baseball eligible list in August 1989. Despite this, Rose continued to deny that he had ever gambled on his own team for over a decade.
He eventually admitted to gambling at Reds games in his 2004 autobiography, “Prison Without Bars.” In an interview on ABC News promoting the book, he came clean for the first time as well.
“I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988,” told ABC News’ Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview that aired January 8, 2004, on “Primetime Thursday.” “It was my fault for not coming clean earlier.”
He still never bet on his team, saying he “want(ed) to win every game.”
“I think what happens to you, at that time, you’re betting football and then what happens after basketball … and obviously the next thing that follows is baseball,” Rose said. “It’s just a pattern you follow.”
Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies during a 1980 baseball game.
AP, FILE
Two years after Rose was banned for life, the Baseball Hall of Fame ruled that no one on the ineligible list would be allowed into the institution.
The controversy surrounding Rose’s suspension and ban from the Hall of Fame has taken on a life of its own, so sports fans often debate the subject more than the legendary on-field exploits.
Even then President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate in February 2020, tweeting, “He gambled, but only on the winning team, and paid the price for a decade. Get PETE ROSE into the BASEBALL Hall of Fame! It’s Time.”
Rose requested that the league be removed from the list in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2022 – but each time it was denied or denied.
“It’s a part of my life that you can’t change, you wish it wouldn’t happen, but you can just guarantee it won’t happen again,” Rose told ABC News in 2004.
There is no debate as to whether his performance on the field should be included in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds looks on the field during batting practice during a Major League Baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium in 1985 in Pittsburgh.
Image George Gojkovich/Getty
Rose chased the career hit record surprising the country in 1985. Rose broke Ty Cobb’s sacred record on September 11, 1985, with one against the San Diego Padres for his 4,192 hits. He would play just one more season, finishing his career with 4,256 hits.
Decades later, Rose remains on the career hits list. Only Derek Jeter (3,465), Albert Pujols (3,384) and Paul Molitor (3,319) have even come within 1,000 hits of Rose’s record in the time since it was set – and none of them are serious challengers.
Years earlier, in 1978, Rose drew attention when he hit Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak – perhaps the proudest record in sports. Beginning on June 14, Rose would record a hit in 44 straight games. The streak finally ended on July 19, but the 44-game streak remains the second-longest since 1900.
Rose has been married twice and has been in a long-term relationship with model Kiana Kim since 2011. The two appeared on the reality TV show, “Pete Rose: Hits and Mrs.” in 2013. Rose has four children.
Rose’s oldest son, Pete Rose Jr., played in the minors and independent baseball for more than 10 years, but played only 11 games in the majors with the Reds in 1997. He had two career hits.
Rose never strayed from baseball, despite being on the sport’s ineligible list. His number 14 was retired by the Reds and he appeared on the sport’s All-Century Team, as voted by fans, in 1999. The team was announced at the All-Star Game that year in Boston and Rose received a standing ovation. Only three non-Hall of Famers on the list of 30 players, with Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire absent due to allegations of steroid use that arose after the list was compiled.
“I owe baseball,” Rose told Gibson in 2004. “Baseball doesn’t owe me a damn thing. I owe baseball. And the only way I can make peace with baseball is to take this negative and somehow make it into a positive.”
ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.
