Philadelphia Phillies, Mike Schmidt remember MLB hit king Pete Rose
Larry Shenk still remembers the day inside Veterans Stadium in 1981.
Shenk, the longtime Philadelphia Phillies head of public relations, walked down the hallway with Pete Rose right after "Charlie Hustle" broke Stan Musial's all-time National League hits record.
"I suppose you have the president calling me tonight, don't you?" Shenk said Rose asked him at the time.
Little did Rose know that President Ronald Reagan was calling to congratulate him on the milestone.
"It was the most hilarious press conference we had because Ronald Reagan couldn't get through to Pete Rose," Shenk said. "Pete Rose at one time said, 'It's a good thing a missile isn't coming.'"
Rose, MLB's all-time hits leader and three-time World Series champion who helped the Phillies win their first title in 1980, has died, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner in Nevada confirmed Monday. He was 83. A Clark County spokesperson said that he died at home of natural causes, a result of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Rose racked up 4,256 hits, beating Ty Cobb's record, was a 17-time All-Star and a three-time batting champion and won the NL MVP in 1973 with the Reds.
Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 and deemed ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rose spent five seasons with the Phillies from 1979-1983 and Shenk was there to see everything as the team's head of public relations.
"He was a winner," Shenk said. "He came from Cincinnati, where they won with the Big Red Machine. Philadelphia was starving for a winner at that stage. We had a good young team with [Mike] Schmidt, [Larry] Bowa, [Greg] Luzinski, [Steve] Carlton. But we needed that spark to get us over the hump and he was the right one."
Phillies, Reds react to Pete Rose's death
Rose spent the first part of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, where he won two World Series. But he came to Philly in 1979 and called the Vet home for five seasons until 1983, where he helped the franchise win its first World Series in 1980.
Rose slashed .29/.365/.361 with a .726 OPS and recorded 826 total hits in the five seasons with the Phillies. He went to the All-Star game four of his five seasons in Philadelphia.
"The Phillies are saddened to learn of Pete Rose's passing," the Phillies wrote in a statement. "He will always be remembered for his grit and hustle, and for playing an integral role in bringing the team its first World Series championship."
Schmidt, who played with Rose on the 1980 World Series team, said in a statement that he was "saddened" to hear about Rose's death.
"My heart goes out to his family," Schmidt said in a statement. "I was lucky that I got to play with Pete and to watch him everyday. As a teammate, he boosted my confidence, he made me laugh and kept me loose. He taught me to enjoy the game, perhaps advice that I needed the most."
Ruben Amaro Jr., the former general manager and outfielder of the Phillies and currently an analyst on NBC Sports Philadelphia, posted a photo of X on Rose following the news of his death.
The Reds, where Rose played for 19 seasons, said they were devastated to hear about Rose's passing.
Rose's complicated legacy
Rose was beloved by Philly fans even though he only played there for five seasons. He embodied the city's grit and toughness.
But Rose's baseball legacy was stained after he was banned from the sport and ruled ineligible for the Hall of Fame for betting on games.
Rose was also accused of having a relationship with a minor in 1973 while he played with the Reds, which led the Phillies to scrap plans to induct him into the Wall of Fame in 2017.
In 2022, Rose appeared at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since he received a lifetime ban from baseball and dismissed questions of sexual misconduct.
"It was 55 years ago, babe," Rose told Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time.
Rose later apologized to Coffey and said: "Will you forgive me if I sign 1,000 baseballs for you?"
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in 2017, said Rose called her in 1973, when she was 14 or 15, and they began a sexual relationship in Cincinnati that lasted several years. She also alleged Rose met her in locations outside Ohio for sex.
Rose's lawyer had said at the time the woman's claims were unverified.
Rose acknowledged in 2017 that he did have a relationship with the woman, but he said it started when she was 16. He also said they never had sex outside Ohio.
At the time, Rose was in his mid-30s and was married with two kids.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
