Born:  Cincinnati, O., 4/14/1941

B-B, T-R...  5'11", 203 lbs

 

Pete Rose was signed before the 1979 season by the Phillies. He paid immediate dividends personally, but the Phils finished a disappointing fourth in the division. In 1980, Pete's personal numbers were down somewhat, but he helped instill a winning spirit in a team that three times had won the division only to be defeated in the playoffs.

 

Rose epitomized the attitude of the Phillies. They were not to be denied in 1980! After the Phillies fell behind the Astros 2 games to 1 in the LCS, the team rallied to win game 4 5-3. Rose scored the winning run in the 10th inning by running over Houston catcher Bruce Bochy at home plate, knocking the ball out of his glove. 

Pete Rose Aqua Velva Commercial

Pete Rose - Sets NL Record With Hit #3631

1980 Statistics

 

Games

 Hits

 HR

RBI

Avg.

1980

   162

185

1

64

.282

LCS

        5

     8

0

2

.400

WS

        6

     6

0

1

.261

Lifetime Statistics

Year

Team

AB

Runs

Hits

HR

RBI

Avg.

1963

Reds

   623

  101

  170

   6

    41

.273

1964

Reds

    516

    64

  139

    4

    34

.269

1965

Reds

    670

  117

   209

 11

   81

.312

1966

Reds

    654

   97

  205

 16

    70

.313

1967

Reds

    585

   86

  176

 12

   76

.301

1968

Reds

   626

   94

  210

 10

   49

.335

1969

Reds

    627

  120

   218

 16

   82

.348

1970

Reds

    649

  120

  205

 15

   52

.316

1971

Reds

    632

   86

  192

 13

   44

.304

1972

Reds

    645

  107

  198

    6

   57

.307

1973

Reds

   680

  115

  230

   5

   64

.338

1974

Reds

    652

  110

  185

   3

   51

.284

1975

Reds

   662

  112

  210

   7

   74

.317

1976

Reds

   665

  130

  215

 10

   63

.323

1977

Reds

   655

   95

  204

   9

   64

.311

1978

Reds

   655

  103

  198

   7

   52

.302

1979

Phillies

    628

    90

  208

   4

   59

.331

1980

Phillies

    655

   95

  185

   1

   64

.282

1981

Phillies

   431

   73

  140

   0

    33

.325

1982

Phillies

   634

    80

  172

   3

    54

.271

1983

Phillies

    493

   52

  121

   0

   45

.245

1984

Expos

    278

   34

    72

   0

   23

.259

1984

Reds

     96

     9

    35

   0

    11

.365

1985

Reds

    405

   60

  107

   2

    46

.264

1986

Reds

    237

   15

    52

   0

    25

.219

TOTALS

 

14053

2165

4256

160

1314

.305

Phillies Publications

From The Phillies 1980 Media Guide:

 

How Obtained:  Signed as a free agent, 12/5/78, to a guaranteed four-year contract.

 

1979 Season:  Continued his amazing consistency with a major league high 23-game hitting streak (winning the new Aqua Velva Award for longest streak), batting safely in 26 of his last 27 games...  He was NL Player of the Month of Sept. as he hit .421 collecting 51 hits...  He became the first player in major league history to collect 200 or more hits in ten seasons surpassing Ty Cobb's record...  On Aug. 5 in Pittsburgh, he singled off Bert Blyleven to become the all-time singles hitter in NL history breaking Honus Wagner's record with 2,427...  Twenty stolen bases was his career high and his .331 average, second in the NL, was his highest since he hit .338 in 1973...  Led the NL in singles with 159...  Set major league record for Most Seasons, 600+ At Bats, 15...  Tied major league records of Most Seasons, 150+ games- 14, and Most Consecutive Seasons, 600+ At Bats- 12...  Played in his 13th All-Star game... Named National League Player of the Decade by THE SPORTING NEWS joining Ted Williams (1940s), Stan Musial (1950s), and Willie Mays (1960s)...  Also won the same award from BASEBALL MAGAZINE.

 

Career:  Pete enters season 258 hits shy of Stan Musial's all-time NL record...  Won batting titles in 1968, 1969, 1973...  Holds all-time records for most hits, and total bases lifetime by a switch hitter; and most home runs, lifetime in the NL for a switch hitter...  Collected his 3,000 major league hit off Montreal's Steve Rogers on May 5, 1978...  Had 678 consecutive game playing streak (9th longest in baseball history) snapped in second game of a DH on 5/7/78...  Set a modern NL record by hitting in 44 consecutive games, June 14- July 31, 1978; only streak longer, Yankee's Joe DiMaggio, 56 straight in 1941...  Holds major league record, Highest Fielding Percentage, lifetime, by an outfielder (1,000 or more games), .992...  Has hit one grand slam off of Dallas Green.

 

Honors:  1963 NL Rookie of the Year...  1973 NL MVP...  1975 World Series MVP and Hickock Award winner...  Has started at four different positions in All-Star games (lf, rf, 3b, 2b)...  Set All-Star game record last season by playing his fifth different position.

From The Phillies 1981 Media Guide:

 

1980 Season:  Passed Honus Wagner and Tris Speaker to move up to 4th place on the all-time hits list (3,557)...  Moved into 2nd place on the all-time AB list (11,479) with only Aaron ahead of him...  Led NL in doubles (42) for the fifth time in seven years...  Once again played in every game and hit .338 with men in scoring position...  Named to his 14th National League All-Star squad...  Was 8 for 19 in October with the Division title on the line batting .421; got on base his final four AB during division clincher against Expos and scored the eventual game winner in front of Schmidt's HR...  Had a nine-game hitting streak...  Batted .284 @ the Vet and .281 on the road...  Led Phils in hits for the second straight year (185)...  Had two four-hit games... His .282 average was his lowest since .269 in 1964 and was the first time under .300 since .284 in 1974...  Had more runs scored and RBI than previous season when he hit .331.

 

1980 Post-Season:  Hit .400 during LCS and scored winning run in Game # 4 knocking over Houston catcher Bruce Bochy...  Batted .261 in the WS and made great defensive play on a deflected pop-up in Game # 6 to set up the final out.

 

Career:  Needs 74 hits to pass Stan Musial (3,630) as the all-time National League leader in career hits, a tremendous accomplishment...  When he passes musial, only Aaron (3,771) and Cobb (4,191) will have more hits...  Won batting titles in 1968, 1969, 1973...  Holds all-time records for most hits and total bases lifetime by a switch hitter and most HR lifetime (NL) for a switch hitter...  In 1980, extended his own record for Most Seasons, 600+ AB, 16; set major league record of Most Seasons, 150+ games, 15 and Most Consecutive Seasons, 600+ AB, 13...  In 1979, he became the only player in major league history to collect 200 or more hits in ten seasons breaking Cobb's record...  On 8/5/79 he singled in Pittsburgh to become the all-time singles hitter in NL history breaking Honus Wagner's record with single #2,427...  20 stolen bases in 1979 is a career high...  Collected his 3,000th major league hit off Steve Rogers on 5/5/78...  Had 678 consecutive game playing streak (9th longest in baseball history) snapped in second game of DH  on 5/7/78...  Set a modern NL record hitting safely in 44 consecutive games, June 14- July 31, 1978; only streak longer is the legendary streak of Joe DiMaggio, 56 in 1941...  Holds major league record, highest fielding percentage, lifetime by an outfielder (1,000 or more games), .992...  Had highest fielding percentage of any NL first baseman, .997 in 1980 with just five errors in 1,555 total chances...  Has one career grand slam coming off his manager, Dallas Green.

 

Honors:  1963 Rookie of the Year...  1973 NL MVP...  1975 World Series MVP and Hickok Award winner...  NL PLAYER OF THE DECADE named by THE SPORTING NEWS (70's) joining Ted Williams (40's), Stan Musial (50's), Willie Mays (60's)...  Won same award from BASEBALL MAGAZINE...  Has started All-Star games at four different positions (lf, rf, 3b, 2b)...  Set All-Star game record in 1979 by playing in his fifth different position (1b).

From The 1980 Phillies Yearbook:

  • Favorite Color:  Brown
  • Favorite Singer/Group:  Bee Gees
  • Favorite Song:  Take Me Out to the Ballgame
  • Favorite City:  San Diego
  • Least Favorite City:  San Francisco
  • Person You'd Most Like To Meet:  Ali
  • Boyhood Idol(s):  Ted Kluzewski
  • Biggest Turn-On:  The crowd at the Vet
  • Biggest Turn-Off:  A dogging baseball player
  • Favorite Subject in School:  Gym and history
  • Favorite TV Show:  Trapper John, M.D.
  • Favorite Book:  None
  • Person You Most Admire:  Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth
  • Greatest Achievement:  Haven't achieved it yet- would be beating Stan Musial's NL record of 3,630 hits
  • Most Memorable Moment:  1975 World Championship
  • Hobbies:  All sports, especially tennis
  • Toughest Pitcher You've Faced:  Randy Jones, Jim Brewer
  • Other Comments:  More on Toughest Pitcher- Best Pitcher, Juan Marichal, Hardest Thrower, Sandy Koufax, Best Competitor, tie between Bob Gibson and Jim Bunning