Baseball legend Pete Rose died on Monday (30 September). But you already know that. And if you're like me and grew up watching Rose play, you're left with a host of complicated feelings.
Since that fateful day 35 years ago, when Pete Rose accepted a spot on baseball’s “permanently ineligible” list, his legacy has been fraught. Unquestionably one of the best ballplayers who ever lived, Rose broke sports’ cardinal rule. He bet on baseball and, not only that, on his own team.
Rose died in his home on Monday of causes yet unknown, a spokesperson for the Clark County office of the coroner/medical examiner in Nevada told CNN. He was 83.
On 23 August 1989, then-Major League Baseball commissioner A Bartlett Giamatti banned Rose from the game. Forever. Rose didn’t think it would stick. But Giamatti died of a heart attack just a week after penalising Rose. Since then, no other MLB commissioner has seriously considered reversing the ban, which means Rose could very well be the best..
