Editing Pete Rose (section)

===Return to Cincinnati (1984–1986)===
[[File:Tommy Lasorda and Pete Rose.jpg|thumb|Rose (left) with [[Tommy Lasorda]] before a game in April 1985]]
On August 15, 1984, the Expos traded Rose back to the Reds for infielder [[Tom Lawless]]. Upon rejoining the Reds, Rose was immediately named [[player-manager (baseball)|player-manager]], replacing [[Vern Rapp]] as manager.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ROSE RETURN TO REDS AS PLAYING MANAGER |work=The New York Times |date=August 16, 1984 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/16/sports/rose-return-to-reds-as-playing-manager.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |last1=Durso |first1=Joseph }}</ref> Despite his .259 average for the season prior to joining the Reds, he hit .365 for the Reds in 26 games (with 35 hits and 11 RBIs), finishing with a .286 overall average—a 41-point improvement over the 1983 season. Furthermore, Rose managed the Reds to a 19–22 record for the remainder of the season. Though the role was once common, to date Rose is the last person to serve as a player-manager in MLB.

On September 11, 1985, Rose broke Cobb's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off [[San Diego Padres]] pitcher [[Eric Show]].<ref name="NYT-record">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/12/sports/sports-of-the-times-baseball-s-boutonniere.html |last=Anderson |first=Dave |date=September 12, 1985 |work=The New York Times |title=Sports of the Times; Baseball's Boutonniere |page=D31 |access-date=October 2, 2024 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> According to MLB.com, MLB continues to recognize Cobb's final hit total as 4,191, though independent research has revealed two of Cobb's hits were counted twice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.curledup.com/2005espn.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121080412/http://www.curledup.com/2005espn.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |title=The 2005 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – book review |work=curledup.com |access-date=June 9, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/sports/baseball/31records.html | work=The New York Times | title=Numbers Are Cast in Bronze, but Are Not Set in Stone | first=Alan | last=Schwarz | date=July 31, 2005 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> It has been suggested because of this, that Rose actually broke Cobb's record against the Cubs' [[Reggie Patterson]] with a single in the first inning of a Reds' 5–5 called game against Chicago on September 8. [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Wide World of Sports (U.S. TV series)|Wide World of Sports]]'' named Rose its Athlete of the Year after Rose broke Cobb's record. Rose accumulated a total of 4,256 hits before his final career at-bat, a strikeout against San Diego's [[Goose Gossage]] on August 17, 1986.

In 2010, ''[[Deadspin]]'' reported Rose used [[corked bat]]s during his 1985 pursuit of Cobb's record. Two sports memorabilia collectors who owned Rose's game-used bats from that season had the bats [[x-rayed]] and found the telltale signs of corking.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Petchesky|first1=Barry|title=This Is Pete Rose's Corked Bat|url=http://deadspin.com/5555714/this-is-pete-roses-corked-bat|access-date=June 16, 2016|work=[[Deadspin]]|publisher=[[Gawker Media]]|date=June 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616052145/http://deadspin.com/5555714/this-is-pete-roses-corked-bat|archive-date=June 16, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Littmann|first1=Chris|title=Corked Bats Reportedly Belonging to Pete Rose Come to Light|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2010/6/8/1647180/corked-bats-reportedly-belonging|access-date=June 16, 2016|work=[[SBNation]]|date=June 8, 2010}}</ref> Rose had previously denied using corked bats.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pete Rose interview|url=http://reds.enquirer.com/2004/01/13/red2qa.html|access-date=June 16, 2016|work=[[Cincinnati Enquirer]]|date=January 13, 2004}}{{Dead link|date=December 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In a report for ''ESPN: The Magazine'', it was noted that Rose had associated with Tommy Gioiosa, the manager of a [[Gold's Gym]] in suburban Cincinnati that sold [[anabolic steroid]]s in the late 1980s. Gioiosa had first met and befriended Rose in 1978 during spring training, becoming a companion and runner to Rose over the next six years before bringing Rose to his gym in 1984.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/1236287.html| title = ESPN.com: MLB – Stark: Another ghost haunts Rose}}</ref> Rose reportedly had thought about taking a shot to help his bat speed near the end of his career, but told Gioiosa that it was "too late to try something new". Attempts to tell Rose about dealing in the gym fell on deaf ears. Gioiosa was later noted as the one individual Rose made bets with, along with later being convicted of [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to sell {{convert|110|lbs}} of [[cocaine]] alongside filing a false tax return that included claiming a winning gambling ticket that had actually been Rose's.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=steroids&num=2| title = ESPN.com – E-Ticket: Who Knew?}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2001/09/peter-rose-200109|title=A Darker Shade of Rose|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=June 20, 2011}}</ref>