Editing Pete Rose (section)

===Cincinnati Reds (1963–1978)===
====NL Rookie of the Year====
During a [[spring training]] game against the [[Chicago White Sox]] in 1963, the Reds' regular second baseman, [[Don Blasingame]], pulled a groin muscle; Rose got his chance and made the most of it. During another spring training game against the [[New York Yankees]], [[Whitey Ford]] gave Rose the derisive nickname "Charlie Hustle" after he sprinted to first base after drawing a [[Base on balls|walk]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/rosepete000824.html|title=Hustle made Rose respected, infamous|author=Bob Carter|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://articles.philly.com/2013-04-13/sports/38513466_1_pete-rose-reds-base| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130730044819/http://articles.philly.com/2013-04-13/sports/38513466_1_pete-rose-reds-base| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 30, 2013|title=Pete Rose brought hustle, first hit 50 years ago|author=Joe Kay|date=April 13, 2013|work=[[philly.com]]}}</ref> Rose adopted that nickname as a badge of honor. In [[Ken Burns]]'s documentary ''[[Baseball (TV series)|Baseball]]'', Ford's teammate (and best friend) [[Mickey Mantle]] claimed that Ford gave Rose the nickname after Rose, playing in left field, made an effort to climb the fence to try to catch a Mantle [[home run]] that was about a hundred feet over his head. According to Mantle, when he returned to the dugout, Ford said, "Hey, Mick, did you see ole Charley Hustle out there trying to catch that ball?"<ref name="pinstripeAlley">{{cite web |title=Pete Rose's history with the Yankees |url=https://www.pinstripealley.com/2015/12/16/10277854/yankees-history-pete-rose-charlie-hustle-mantle-ford |website=pinstripeAlley.com |access-date=January 19, 2019|date=December 16, 2015 }}</ref>

On April 8, 1963, Rose made his Major League debut against the [[1963 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]] at [[Crosley Field]] and drew a walk in his first plate appearance. After going 0-for-11, Rose got his first career Major League hit on April 13, a triple off Pittsburgh's [[Bob Friend]]. He hit .273 for the year and won the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) [[MLB Rookie of the Year award|Rookie of the Year Award]], collecting seventeen of twenty votes.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1963.shtml|title=1963 Awards Voting|work=[[Baseball Reference]]}}</ref>

Rose entered the [[United States Army Reserves]] after the [[1963 Cincinnati Reds season|1963 baseball season]]. He was assigned to [[Fort Knox]] for six months of active duty, followed by six years of attendance with the 478th Engineering Battalion, an army reserve unit, at [[Fort Thomas, Kentucky]].<ref name=army>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/130526/charlie_hustle_as_rose_sported_red_he_marched_in_army_green|title=Charlie Hustle: as Rose sported red, he marched in Army green|work=US Army|date=July 24, 2014|accessdate=October 1, 2024|first=Gavin|last=Lapaille}}</ref> At Fort Knox, Rose was a [[platoon guide]]. Rose remained at Fort Knox to assist his sergeant in training the next platoon and to help another sergeant train the fort's baseball team. Later in his Fort Thomas service, Rose served as a company cook, which entailed coming in early for the one-weekend-per-month meeting so that he could leave early enough to participate in Reds home games. Other Reds players in the unit included [[Johnny Bench]] and [[Alex Johnson]].<ref name=army/>

====Early years====
In an April 23, [[1964 Cincinnati Reds season|1964]], road contest against the [[Houston Colt .45's]], Rose reached first base on an error in the top of the ninth inning of a scoreless game and scored on another error. The Colt .45s lost the game in the bottom of the ninth inning,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU196404230.shtml|title=Cincinnati Reds 1, Houston Colt .45's 0|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|location=[[Colt Stadium]]|date=April 23, 1964}}</ref> and [[Ken Johnson (right-handed pitcher)|Ken Johnson]] became the first major league pitcher to lose a [[complete game]] [[no-hitter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-23-1964-ken-johnson-pitches-a-no-hitter-for-houston-and-loses-the-game-to-reds/|last=Schmitt|first=Steven|title=April 23, 1964: Ken Johnson pitches a no-hitter for Houston … and loses the game to Reds|website=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref>

Rose slumped late in the season and was benched; he finished with a .269 average. In order to improve his batting, Rose played in the [[Venezuelan Winter League]] with [[Leones del Caracas]] during the 1964–1965 offseason. Rose came back to the Reds in [[1965 Cincinnati Reds season|1965]], leading the league in hits (209) and at-bats (670), and finishing sixth in NL MVP balloting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1965.shtml#all_NL_MVP_voting|title=1965 Awards Voting|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> It was the first of his ten seasons with 200-plus hits, and his .312 batting average was the first of nine consecutive .300 seasons. He hit a career-high sixteen home runs in [[1966 Cincinnati Reds season|1966]], then switched positions from second base to [[right fielder|right field]] the following year.

In [[1968 Cincinnati Reds season|1968]], Rose started the season with a 22-game [[hitting streak]], missed three weeks (including the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]]) with a broken thumb, then had a 19-game hitting streak late in the season. He had to finish the season 6-for-9 to beat out the Pirates' [[Matty Alou]] and win the first of two close NL batting-title races with a .335 average. He finished second to [[St. Louis Cardinals]] [[pitcher]] [[Bob Gibson]] for the NL MVP award, earning six first place votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1968.shtml#all_NL_MVP_voting|title=1968 Awards Voting|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

The [[1969 Cincinnati Reds season|following year]], Rose set a career-high in batting (.348) and tied his career-best sixteen homers. As the Reds' leadoff man, he had 218 hits, walking 88 times and pacing the league in runs with 120. He hit 33 doubles and 11 triples, drove in 82 runs, [[slugging percentage|slugged]] .512 (by far the highest mark of his long career), and had a .432 [[on-base percentage|OBP]] (also a career best). Despite Pittsburgh's [[Roberto Clemente]] going 3-for-4 in the final game, Rose's 1-for-4 was good enough for the title; Rose finished .348; Clemente .345.

====1970 All-Star Game====
{{Main|1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game}}
Brand-new [[Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati)|Riverfront Stadium]] had been open for only two weeks on July 14, [[1970 Cincinnati Reds season|1970]], when Rose was involved in one of the most infamous plays in All-Star Game history. Facing the [[Los Angeles Angels|California Angels]]' [[Clyde Wright]] in the twelfth inning, Rose singled and advanced to second on another single by the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]' [[Billy Grabarkewitz]]. The [[Chicago Cubs]]' [[Jim Hickman (1960s outfielder)|Jim Hickman]] then singled sharply to center. [[Amos Otis]]'s throw went past [[Cleveland Indians]] catcher [[Ray Fosse]], as Rose barreled over Fosse to score the winning run. Fosse suffered a fractured and separated shoulder, which went undiagnosed until the next year.<ref name=Miller>{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Scott|title=Fosse still aching, but not bitter 43 years after All-Star Game collision|url=http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/scott-miller/22721779/fosse-still-aching-but-not-bitter-43-years-after-all-star-game-collision|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130713193424/http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/scott-miller/22721779/fosse-still-aching-but-not-bitter-43-years-after-all-star-game-collision|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 13, 2013|work=CBS Sports|date=July 11, 2013|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref> Fosse continued to hit for average and finished the season at .307, but with diminished power. He had sixteen home runs before the break but only two afterwards. He played with the Indians until the 1972 season, but never approached his first-year numbers.<ref>The Daily Star July 12, 2003</ref> The collision also caused Rose to miss three games with a bruised knee.<ref name=Miller/>

====1973 NL MVP season====
[[File:Pete rose at bat.jpg|thumb|Rose at bat during a game in the 1970s]]
In [[1973 Cincinnati Reds season|1973]], Rose led the league with 230 hits and a .338 batting average en route to winning the NL MVP award and leading "[[the Big Red Machine]]" to the [[1973 National League Championship Series]] against the [[1973 New York Mets season|New York Mets]].

During the fifth inning of Game Three of the series, Rose was on first base when [[Joe Morgan]] hit a [[double play]] ball to Mets first baseman [[John Milner]]. Rose slid into second base in an attempt to break up the double play. This incited a fight with Mets shortstop [[Bud Harrelson]] that resulted in a [[bench-clearing brawl]]. When the Reds took the field, the game was nearly called off after the [[Shea Stadium]] crowd threw objects at Rose from the stands. The disruption caused Reds manager [[Sparky Anderson]] to pull his team off the field until order was restored.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/pete-rose-mets-reds-fight-new-york-baseball.html|title= Pete Rose Remembers the Biggest Brawl in Postseason History "You know how many second basemen or shortstops I knocked on their ass in my career?" |work=New York Magazine|first=Keith |last=O'Brien|date=October 8, 2023|accessdate=October 1, 2024}}</ref> Mets manager [[Yogi Berra]] and players [[Willie Mays]], [[Tom Seaver]], [[Cleon Jones]] and [[Rusty Staub]] were summoned by NL President [[Chub Feeney]] out to left field to calm the fans. The Reds ended up losing the game, 9–2, and the NLCS, 3–2, despite Rose's .381 batting average in the series, including his eighth-inning home run to tie Game One and his 12th-inning home run to win Game Four. It was also around this time that Rose, who had previously sported a [[crewcut]], grew his now famous [[bowl cut]], a hair style he would wear for the rest of his career.

====The Big Red Machine====
{{Main|The Big Red Machine}}
[[File:Rose walking onto field.jpg|thumb|Rose walks onto the field at Dodger Stadium with the Cincinnati Reds in 1976.]]

The Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s earned the nickname "the Big Red Machine" as one of the greatest teams in MLB history, including future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and [[Tony Pérez]]. Rose was viewed as one of the club's leaders.

Rose was a significant factor in the Reds' success in 1975 and 1976 when he successfully moved from the outfield to third base. Earlier in his career, the Reds and then-manager [[Don Heffner]] tried to force Rose to third base, but Rose chafed at the move and it was soon abandoned. In the spring of 1975, manager [[Sparky Anderson]], knowing how Rose would react to being forced to move, instead asked him if he would do so for the good of the team. Rose immediately agreed. This move strengthened third base and helped to solidify the Reds for those two championship seasons, because it made room for power hitting outfielder [[George Foster (baseball)|George Foster]]. In [[1975 Cincinnati Reds season|1975]], Rose earned [[1975 World Series|World Series]] [[World Series Most Valuable Player Award|MVP]] honors in leading the Reds to their first championship since [[1940 World Series|1940]], a seven-game triumph over the [[1975 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]]. Rose led the team with ten hits and a .370 batting average in the seven games. He was awarded the [[Hickok Belt]] as the top professional athlete of the year, as well as ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' magazine's "[[Sportsman of the Year]]" award.

The following year, Rose was a major force in helping the Reds repeat as World Series champions. The [[1976 Cincinnati Reds season|1976 Reds]] swept the [[1976 Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies]] in the best-three-of-five [[1976 National League Championship Series|NLCS]], followed by a four-game sweep of the [[1976 New York Yankees season|Yankees]] in the [[1976 World Series|World Series]]. The 1976 club remains the only team since the expansion of the playoffs in 1969 to go undefeated in the postseason, and the Reds franchise has not lost a World Series game since game six in 1975 (wins in game seven in 1975, and four-game sweeps in 1976 and [[1990 World Series|1990]]).

====Three home-run game and 3,000th hit====
On April 29, [[1978 Cincinnati Reds season|1978]] at [[Shea Stadium]], in a 14–7 rout against the [[New York Mets]], Rose hit a career-high three home runs off of three different pitchers and went 5-for-6, which was perhaps the greatest performance of his career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B04290NYN1978.htm|title=Cincinnati Reds at New York Mets Box Score. April 29, 1978|website=retrosheet.org|access-date= August 3, 2024}}</ref>

Six days later, on May 5, Rose became the thirteenth player in MLB history to garner his [[3,000 hit club|3,000th career hit]] when he singled off [[Montreal Expos]] pitcher [[Steve Rogers (baseball)|Steve Rogers]] in front of 37,823 fans at home field [[Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati)|Riverfront Stadium]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197805050.shtml|title=Montreal Expos at Cincinnati Reds Box Score, May 5, 1978|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

====44-game hitting streak====
[[File:Jimmy Carter with Pete Rose and family - NARA - 181552 (cropped).tif|thumb|upright=0.75|Rose in 1978]]
On June 14, 1978, Rose singled in the first inning off [[Chicago Cubs|Cubs]] pitcher [[Dave Roberts (pitcher)|Dave Roberts]]; Rose would proceed to get a hit in every game he played until August 1, making a run at [[Joe DiMaggio]]'s record [[Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak|56-game hitting streak]], which had stood virtually unchallenged for thirty-seven years. The streak started quietly, but by the time it had reached thirty games, the media took notice and a pool of reporters accompanied Rose and the Reds to every game. On July 19, in a game against the Phillies, Rose was hitless going into the eighth inning when he walked. His team was trailing in the ninth inning and the streak appeared over, but the Reds batted through their entire lineup and gave Rose another chance to bat. Rose faced [[Ron Reed]] and laid down a perfect [[Bunt (baseball)|bunt]] single to extend the streak to thirty-two games.

Rose would eventually tie [[Willie Keeler]]'s 1897 single-season NL record at forty-four games, but the streak came to an end on August 1 when [[Gene Garber]] of the [[Atlanta Braves]] [[strikeout|struck out]] Rose in the ninth inning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19780801&id=_egbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6488,2915547&hl=en|title=The Dispatch – Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref> With two outs and a 2–2 count, Garber decided not to challenge Rose with a [[fastball]]. He took full advantage of Rose's predicament by throwing him an off-speed pitch out of the strike zone, which Rose swung at and missed. Rose was livid after the game, blasting Garber and the Braves for treating the situation "like it was the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series".<ref>{{cite news|title=Former reliever Gene Garber recalls 19-year career and his role in baseball history |author=Joe O'Loughlin |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_2_63/ai_112167128 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040906180014/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_2_63/ai_112167128 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 6, 2004 |newspaper=Baseball Digest |date=February 2004 |access-date=April 28, 2010 }}</ref> Garber took the comment as a compliment: "I said to myself, 'Well, thanks, Pete. That's how I try to pitch every time I'm in a game.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/pete-rose-obituary-tchse2ky |title=Pete Rose, MLB hit king who bet on baseball, dies at 83 |work=Newsday |date=October 2024 |accessdate=October 1, 2024}}</ref>