Wyatt: Pete Rose’s 44-game hitting streak
From Daniel Wyatt at The National Pastime Museum on May 29, 2018:
By spring 1978, 37-year-old Pete Rose was considered a Major League superstar, although he was slowing down a notch. Paid $375,000 for the coming season, the switch-hitting phenomenon had collected his 3,000th hit on May 5, the 13th player to reach the coveted milestone. In his 16th season in the Majors, he was an entrenched .300 hitter lifetime, and an undeniable future Hall of Famer specializing in line-drive hitting, doubles in the gap, plus the occasional bunt to keep the defense honest.
In his career to that point, Rose had won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, three batting titles, and one MVP. Nine times he had banged out 200 hits, nine times he scored 100 runs, and three straight times he led the league in doubles. He had also led his team to four World Series, winners in two of them, all with his hometown team—the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds, managed by the remarkable Sparky Anderson.
But the best was yet to come for the man whom baseball had known for years as the one, the only “Charlie Hustle.” Some could call it the “icing on the cake” for Rose’s outstanding career even before he was crowned the ultimate “Hit King.” It all started on June 14, 1978, before a hometown day-game crowd of almost 35,000 at Riverfront Stadium.
Read the full article here: https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/pete-rose-s-44-game-hitting-streak
Originally published: May 29, 2018. Last Updated: May 29, 2018.