In 1973, Pete Rose led the league with 230 hits with a 0.338 batting average which helped him win the National League MVP award and led his team to the 1973 National League Championship series. The Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s earned the nickname “The Big Red Machine” as one of the greatest teams in MLB history. 

During the spring of 1975, his manager, Sparky Anderson, had asked him if he wanted to move from outfield to third base and he agreed. This became a significant factor in their success in the 1975 and 1976 seasons. Also, in 1975, he earned the World Series MVP honours for leading the Reds to their first championship since 1940. In 1978, he eventually tied with Willie Keeler’s 1897 single-season National League record of a 44-game hitting streak. 

In 1979, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent. They thought that he was a player who could bring them over the top. They managed to earn three division titles, two World Series appearances, and their first World Series title in the following 4 years. In 1983, he performed his worst season but bounced back during the postseason.

 Pete was granted an unconditional release from the Phillies in October of 1983. He signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Expos and celebrated his 21st anniversary of his first career hit. Over the course of the time he was with the Montreal Expos, he played in 95 games and accumulated 72 hits and 23 RBIs while batting 0.259. 

In August of 1984, the Expos traded him back to the Cincinnati Reds. Upon his return to the Reds, he was immediately named player-manager replacing Vern Rapp who was the manager at the time. As of today, Pete was the last person to serve as a player-manager in the MLB.

In September of 1985, he broke a record for all-time hits with his 4,192nd hit beating Ty Cobbs previous record of 4,191 all-time hits.

In November of 1986, he was dropped from the Reds to make room for pitcher Pat Pacillo and he unofficially retired as a player. He finished his career with a number of MLB and  National League records that have lasted many years. 

Some of the records he still has are the most hits at 4,256, most singles at 3,215, most at-bats at 14,555, and the most games played at 3,562.