Pete Rose, baseball's controversial hit king, dies at 83

Pete Rose, baseball's hit king and one of the most decorated and controversial figures in MLB history, died at age 83, the Cincinnati Reds confirmed Monday.

"Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete's passing," Reds principal owner and managing partner Bob Castellini said in a statement. "He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him."

Rose is baseball's all-time hits leader, recording 4,256 over a 24-year career between the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos from 1963-86. He's also the major-league leader in games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215), and times on base (5,929).

However, the league banned Rose for life in 1989 for gambling while he was a player-manager for the Reds in 1986. His punishment has kept him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

A Cincinnati native, Rose signed with his hometown Reds in 1960 and reached the majors in 1963, winning NL Rookie of the Year. Two years later, he led the league in hits for the first of seven times and recorded his first of an MLB-record 10 200-hit seasons.

Rose became one of the anchors of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" dynasty in the 1970s. The 17-time All-Star won NL MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP in 1975 during the first of the Reds' back-to-back titles. Rose added a third ring with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, one of six World Series and eight postseasons he played in.

Along the way, Rose developed a reputation as a hard-nosed and determined player whose trademark head-first dives into bases epitomized his style of play. Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle," Rose often found himself embroiled in controversy on the field. He fought Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson during the 1973 NLCS and famously ran over catcher Ray Fosse to end the 1970 All-Star Game - a collision that ruined Fosse's playing career.

Rose picked up his 4,000th career hit during a 95-game stint with the Expos in 1984. Partway through that season, he returned to the Reds as player-manager and broke Cobb's all-time hits record on Sept. 11, 1985.

Rose retired as a player in 1986 but remained in the dugout as Reds manager until MLB put his lifetime suspension in place.

In August 1989, commissioner Bart Giamatti announced that Rose agreed to the lifetime ban. Although Rose denied the allegations, MLB's investigation showed evidence that he bet on baseball, and specifically Reds games, between 1985-87, according to Hillel Italie of The Associated Press.

But Rose reversed course in 2004 and admitted to betting on baseball, including games he was involved in. He denied ever betting on his team to lose.

While he received a few Hall of Fame votes in the early 1990s, Rose's ban kept him on the sidelines in baseball and out of Cooperstown. His petitions for reinstatement were repeatedly denied.

However, MLB allowed Rose to be honored on several occasions. The Reds retired his No. 14 and inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2016, with Rose participating in the ceremonies. He was also honored in 1999 as part of MLB's All-Century Team during Game 2 of that year's World Series.