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Pete Rose

Turns In Batting Average Of .311



In 1977 Rose turned in a batting average of .311 and knocked home sixty-four runs. In 1978, he mounted the last serious threat to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, pushing his personal total to forty-four consecutive games, the most for a NL player in the 20th century. Early in the season, on May 5, Rose became the youngest player ever to reach 3,000 hits. At season's end, he turned free agent, setting off a frenzied bidding war for his services. In the end, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and was assigned to play first base, his fifth position since his 1963 debut with the majors. In his first season with the Phillies, Rose turned in a batting average of .331 and knocked home fifty-nine runs. The following year his batting average slipped to .282 during the regular season, but he played well enough to help Philadelphia win its first-ever World Championship. In the ninth inning of the sixth game of the World Series, the Phillies were leading 41, but the Kansas City Royals had loaded the bases. Royal Frank White's pop-up foul bounced out of catcher Bob Boone's glove but was caught by Rose to prevent a possible tragedy. The Phillies took the series, four games to two.



During the 1981 season, shortened by a players' strike, Rose had his last .300 season and led the NL in hits. Already forty years of age, it was clear that Charlie Hustle's career was winding down, but attention remained focused on Rose as he edged ever closer to Ty Cobb's career hitting record of 4,192 hits. The night after the players' strike ended in August, Rose passed Stan Musial as the NL's all-time leading hitter. At the end of the 1981 season, Rose's total stood just shy of 3,700 hits, less than 500 from the magic mark. In 1982, his batting average slipped to .271, but he managed to add another 172 hits, bringing his total to within 323 hits of Cobb's record. During 1983, the final year of his contract with the Phillies, Rose batted only .245, but he helped the Phillies make a return visit to the World Series, which Philadelphia lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five games. By season's end, Rose's career hit total had moved up to 3,990, only 202 hits away from the magic mark.

Career Statistics

Yr Team AVG GP AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB
CIN: Cincinnati Reds; MON: Montreal Expos; PHI: Philadelphia Phillies.
1963 CIN .273 157 623 101 170 6 41 55 72 13
1964 CIN .269 136 516 64 139 4 34 36 51 4
1965 CIN .312 162 670 117 209 11 81 69 76 8
1966 CIN .313 156 654 97 205 16 70 37 61 4
1967 CIN .301 148 585 86 176 12 76 56 66 11
1968 CIN .335 149 626 94 210 10 49 56 76 3
1969 CIN .348 156 627 120 218 16 82 88 65 7
1970 CIN .316 159 649 120 205 15 52 73 64 12
1971 CIN .304 160 632 86 192 13 44 68 50 13
1972 CIN .307 154 645 107 198 6 57 73 46 10
1973 CIN .338 160 680 115 230 5 64 65 42 10
1974 CIN .284 163 652 110 185 3 51 106 54 2
1975 CIN .317 162 662 112 210 7 74 89 50 0
1976 CIN .323 162 665 130 215 10 63 86 54 9
1977 CIN .311 162 655 95 204 9 64 66 42 16
1978 CIN .302 159 655 103 198 7 52 62 30 13
1979 PHI .331 163 628 90 208 4 59 95 32 20
1980 PHI .282 162 655 95 185 1 64 66 33 12
1981 PHI .325 107 431 73 140 0 33 46 26 4
1982 PHI .271 162 634 80 172 3 54 66 32 8
1983 PHI .245 151 493 52 121 0 45 52 28 7
1984 MON .259 95 278 34 72 0 23 31 20 1
CIN .365 26 96 9 35 0 11 9 7 0
1985 CIN .264 119 405 60 107 2 46 86 35 8
1986 CIN .219 72 237 15 52 0 25 39 31 3
TOTAL .303 3562 14053 2165 4256 160 1314 1566 1143 198

Additional topics

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