Pete Rose Aftermath

Pete Rose Jersey

After retiring as a player, Pete Rose remained with the Cincinnati Reds as manager for another 3 years. (1984 to November 1986 as a player-manager, November 1986 to 1989 as a regular manager). 

In April of 1988, he had a 30-day suspension during a home game against the New York Mets with two outs in the top of the ninth. One of the players hit what looked like a routine ground ball but the throw to first base was wide and pulled the first baseman’s foot off the bag. The umpire did not immediately make the safe call. The first baseman waited for the call instead of making a play at the plate allowing a different player to score all the way from second base with what would have turned out to be the game-winning run. Pete got visibly angry and argued the call. The dispute escalated to the point that he forcibly pushed the umpire twice. He was probably ejected because touching an umpire is grounds for immediate ejection. He was forced to be restrained by his coaches and claimed that the umpire had initiated the physical contact. The National League president, A. Bartlett Giamatti, suspended Pete for 30 days which, as of 2024, remains to be the longest suspension levied against a manager for an on-field incident. 

In February of 1989, he was under investigation because of reports that he had been betting on baseball.  He had initially refused saying that he only bet on football, basketball, and horse racing. But later in 2004, he did admit publicly that he had been betting on baseball while playing and managing the Reds. This act ended up disqualifying him from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

In August of 1989, he voluntarily accepted a permanent place on Baseball’s ineligible list. According to baseball rules, he could apply for reinstatement in a year.  He applied for reinstatement in 1992 and in 1998, neither was acted on. In 2015, representatives of his applied for reinstatement but, the request was denied. In 2020, he tried again with his lawyers with no success. He also tried again in 2022 but nothing happened of it.

He also appeared in the World Wrestling Federation from 1998 to 2000 and the annual WrestleMania Pay-Per-View event. This became a running gag. At WrestleMania XIV, he also served as the guest ring announcer. He appeared a few more times most notably in 2002, 2004, 2010, and 2012. From April 2015 to August 2017 he was hired on Fox Sports as a guest studio colour analyst for the MLB coverage. He was let go in  2017 due to some allegations of sexual misconduct. On September 30th of 2024, he died in his home at the age of 83. 

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