Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame this summer.
The Reds announced his selection Tuesday. The event is scheduled to take place June 24-26.
Cincinnati passed along comments from CEO Bob Castellini, as well as Rick Walls, the executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, concerning Rose’s upcoming induction:
Rose later spoke to the media about the honor, joking in regard to the occasion:
Rose also kept the jokes coming when asked what he wanted on his statue, replying,“It sure as hell won’t be me standing at the $2 window at Turfway.”
Rose spent the first 16 seasons of his major league career with the Reds, starting in 1963. After stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos, he returned to Cincinnati in 1984 to serve as a player-manager en route to becoming MLB‘s all-time hit king.
In all, Rose hit .307 with a .379 on-base percentage, 152 home runs and 146 stolen bases across 19 seasons in Cincinnati. Charlie Hustle also racked up more than 1,700 runs scored and 1,000 runs batted in.
Among the accolades he earned while in a Reds uniform were 13 All-Star Game selections, three batting titles, two Gold Gloves and an MVP and Rookie of the Year award. The team also won two championships during the Big Red Machine era.
“This is the baseball capital of the world,” Rose told reporters. “Why it’s so important for the Reds to do well.”
Rose was eventually banned from baseball for betting on the sport. Current MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred upheld that decision in December, citing past evidence and the former superstar’s decision to keep gambling on the game, albeit legally, to this day, as noted by ESPN.com.
“Mr. Rose’s public and private comments, including his initial admission in 2004, provide me with little confidence that he has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct, that he has accepted full responsibility for it, or that he understands the damage he has caused,” Manfred wrote in a statement.
Despite that, Rose hasn’t shut the door on the Hall of Fame, telling reporters: “I haven’t given up on Cooperstown—I’m not the type to give up on anything.”
While that decision is a setback in Rose’s efforts to earn a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Reds are letting him take his place among the franchise’s greats. There’s no doubt his performance on the field warranted the selection.
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