Il famoso giocatore di baseball e controverso giocatore di scommesse Peter Rose muore a 83 anni
Leggendario personaggio del baseball Pete Rose, soprannominato "Charlie Hustle" per la sua instancabile corsa alla prima base anche sui passi, è morto nella sua residenza di Las Vegas lunedì. Aveva 83 anni. Al momento, la causa del decesso non è stata determinata.
Rose, la cui carriera eccezionale lo ha visto accumulare 4.256 valide, guidando tutte le Major League Baseball, ha giocato 19 delle sue 24 stagioni con la sua amata squadra di casa, i Cincinnati Reds. Nel corso della sua illustre carriera, è stato 17 volte All-Star, tre volte campione della World Series, MVP della National League e MVP della World Series.
La sua media battuta è rimasta impressionantemente stabile al .303 per tutta la carriera.
Come Rose ha dichiarato in passato, "Ogni estate, tre cose accadranno - l'erba diventerà verde, il tempo diventerà caldo e Pete Rose otterrà 200 valide e batterà .300."
La sua induzione nella Hall of Fame del baseball sembrava garantita, con il commissario della Major League Baseball Peter Ueberroth che garantiva un "posto di spicco" per lui tra i suoi sacri corridoi.
Ma il destino aveva altri piani.
Hall of Disrepute
Nel marzo 1989, Rose si è ritrovato al centro di uno scandalo di scommesse, seconda solo alla famigerata vicenda dei Chicago Black Sox del 1919. Diversi membri dei Black Sox furono espulsi per aver perso intenzionalmente la World Series di quell'anno.
In qualità di manager dei Reds, Rose è stato trovato a scommettere su partite che coinvolgevano la sua squadra.
Despite Rose's denial of any wrongdoing, Ueberroth's investigation revealed extensive betting activity by Rose in relation to professional baseball, specifically Cincinnati Reds games, within the 1985, 1986, and 1987 baseball seasons.
Although Rose never bet against his team, as the Black Sox members had, it made no difference under MLB rules, which view betting on your team's win or loss as equally taboo.
Betting on a game featuring your team automatically merits a lifetime ban from baseball, leaving Rose ineligible for the Hall of Fame and likely setting back the legalization of sports betting by a decade.
Rose's downfall was all the more painful due to his deep affinity for baseball. Rose could recall the smallest details from bygone games and the most obscure player statistics.
In July, Rose claimed the scandal cost him $100 million.
"That's what I would have made in baseball if I hadn't been suspended," Rose stated during the first episode screening of the "Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose" HBO documentary series.
Having exhausted all options, Rose continued betting on baseball illegally in Nevada casinos, the only state where such activity was legal until 2018.
In his 2019 autobiography, "Play Hungry," Rose wrote, "I don't believe that betting is morally wrong. I don't even believe that betting on baseball is morally wrong. There are legal ways and illegal ways, and betting on baseball the way I did went against the rules of baseball."
Signing autographs for his forgiving fans provided not only an income but also seemed to provide solace to his troubled soul, as fans often praised him for the good he brought to baseball, overshadowing the bad.
Despite the betting scandal involving Pete Rose, ongoing news about his life and career continues to captivate baseball fans. The controversy surrounding his lifetime ban from Major League Baseball and his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame remains a topic of heated debate among sports enthusiasts.
