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Pete Rose

Makes Major League Debut



On April 8, 1963, Rose made his major league debut playing second base for the Reds. He played nearly every game his rookie season. With a batting average of.273 and forty-one runs batted in, Rose was named National League (NL) Rookie of the Year. In his second season with the Reds, Rose's batting average slipped slightly to .269 and his RBIs totaled only thirty-four, but he barreled back in 1965 with a batting average of .312 and an impressive eighty-one RBIs. For the next eight seasons, through 1973, Rose posted batting averages of.300 or higher every year and in 1969 hit a career-high eighty-two RBIs. In 1967, after four years at second base, Rose was switched to outfield to make room for Joe Morgan at second base. At the end of the 1969 season, Rose and Roberto Clemente were tied for the NL batting title going into the final game of the year. In his last at-bat of the season, Rose bunted for a base hit to beat out Clemente and win the title.



For the first seven years of the 1970s, the Reds were the most successful team in the National League, and Rose clearly played a major role in powering the team's climb to the top of the league. In the 1970 All-Star Game, Rose's trademark hustle pushed the NL to victory. In the process, Rose roughed up Ray Fosse, catcher for the Cleveland Indians, in one of the most memorable plays in All-Star history. With the game tied 4-4 in the 12th inning, Rose came charging home with the winning run of the game, barreling over Fosse and separating the catcher's shoulder. After the end of the regular season, Rose fueled the Reds' drive to the NL championship in a sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the first game of the series, Rose drove in a run to break a scoreless tie in the 10th inning. He then singled during the eighth-inning rally that produced the winning run in the third game.

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Famous Sports StarsBaseballPete Rose - Born In Cincinnati, Makes Major League Debut, Leads Reds To Nl Championship, Chronology, Related Biography: Baseball Player Ray Fosse - CONTACT INFORMATION