Having been also pursued by the Mets, Braves, Pirates, and Royals, Pete Rose signed with the Phillies on December 5, 1978 for four years and $3.2 million. Rose’s new deal comes after having spent sixteen years with the Cincinnati Reds
The first officially-recorded save took place on April 7, 1969 by Bill Singer as the Dodgers defeated Cincinnati, 3-2, in the season opener at Crosley Field. The game had started with Don Drysdale giving up two back-to-back home runs on the first two pitches he threw for the season to Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan. Drysdale managed to calm down enough for the Dodgers to make a comeback, and Singer did not give up a hit in the final three innings to close out the game.
Ken Johnson passed away this past week, on November 21, 2015. I’m not sure I ever even heard of him until I saw the news story about his passing. It turns out, Johnson is the only pitcher in MLB history to pitch a nine-inning, complete game no-hitter and still lose the game.
On April 23, 1964, Ken Johnson and the Colt .45s played the Cincinnati Reds. While Johnson pitched near flawlessly, it was fielding errors that became his undoing. The game was still scoreless going into the top of the ninth, when Pete Rose bunted a roller back to the mound. Johnson fielded but threw the ball away, allowing Rose to advance to second. Rose moved to third on a ground out. Then, with two outs, an error by second baseman Nellie Fox allowed Rose to score.
When the Colt .45s failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, Johnson became the first pitcher to lose a game in spite of throwing a no-hitter in nine innings. No other pitcher has ever managed to accomplish this feat (if you can call it an accomplishment). Statistics from the game can be found here.
“I pitched the game of my life and still lost,” Johnson would say after the game. “A hell of a way to get into the record books.”
According to Johnson’s family, he had been bedridden with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases for two years. He died after contracting a kidney infection.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
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Reds 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Colts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
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On March 20, 1989, Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner of baseball, and commissioner-elect A. Bartlett Giamatti released a statement that Major League Baseball was investigating the allegations surrounding Reds’ manager Pete Rose and gambling. According to the statement, the commissioner’s office “has for several months been conducting a full inquiry into serious allegations involving Mr. Pete Rose.” While the commissioner’s office declined further comment, rumors of a possible suspension surrounded the investigation.
Playing baseball for a living is like having a license to steal.
~Pete Rose
Here’s another great infographic depicting record holders for the most career singles, doubles, triples, home runs, and grand slams — as of 2009. The one out-of-date piece of information on here is in the grand slam category, as Alex Rodriguez passed Gehrig’s record in 2013 with his 24th career grand slam.
In his debut as a Cincinnati Red, rookie Pete Rose went 2-for-2 in an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox on March 10, 1963. That spring, Rose went on to become the Opening Day second baseman and was name the National League’s Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
Following weeks of legal back-and-forth, on 24 August 1989, baseball Commissioner Giamatti bans Pete Rose from baseball for life for gambling on Major League games. Rose signs a five-page agreement accepting the ban, but he never admits to gambling on baseball.
