MVP Profile: Pete Rose, 1973

Outfielder, Cincinnati Reds

Age:  32 (April 14)

11^th season with Reds

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 192 

Prior to 1973:

A Cincinnati native, Rose excelled in football, as well as baseball, at Western Hills High School. He then played semipro baseball where he drew the notice of major league scouts and signed with the hometown Reds in 1960. Installed at second base with Geneva of the Class D New York-Pennsylvania League, Rose batted .277 in 85 games. He spent 1961 in the Class D Florida State League with Tampa and hit .331. Advancing to Macon of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1962 he batted .330 with 31 doubles, 17 triples, 9 home runs, and 71 RBIs. Invited to spring training with the Reds in 1963, he made the most of the opportunity with a strong enough performance to impress manager Fred Hutchinson and make the opening day lineup. Despite an 0-for-12 start at the plate, Rose went on to hit .273 with 101 runs scored, 25 doubles, 9 triples, 6 home runs, and 41 RBIs and received NL Rookie of the Year recognition. Brash and always hustling on the field, Rose picked up the nickname “Charley Hustle” from star Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford after he was observed running to first base after drawing a walk in a spring exhibition game, which became a signature feature of Rose’s style of play. He followed up his outstanding rookie season by batting .269 in 1964 and .312 in 1965, when he led the NL with 209 hits and was an All-Star for the first time. His play at second base also improved in addition to his hitting. Despite the improvement in fielding Rose was briefly switched to third base in 1966 to accommodate promising rookie second baseman Tommy Helms. The two traded positions and Rose hit .313 with 205 hits, 38 doubles, 5 triples, 16 home runs, and 70 RBIs. He was moved to left field in 1967 as Helms went to second base and Tony Perez to third. Rose’s hitting was not affected as he batted .301 with 32 doubles, 8 triples, 12 home runs, and 76 RBIs despite a shoulder injury that sidelined him for two weeks. A right fielder in 1968, “Charley Hustle” topped the NL with 210 hits and a .335 batting average. The hard-playing Rose won another batting title in 1969 while hitting .348 with 16 home runs and 82 RBIs and a league-high 120 runs scored. He also received a Gold Glove for his play in right field. In 1970 the Reds, under first-year manager Sparky Anderson, won the NL West and the league pennant and Rose contributed a league-leading 205 hits plus 37 doubles, 9 triples, 15 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .316 batting average for the hard-hitting club dubbed “the Big Red Machine”. He also placed seventh in league MVP voting and was awarded another Gold Glove. The team dropped to fourth in 1971 but “Charley Hustle” remained productive by hitting .304 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs. He was back in left field for the pennant-winning Reds in 1972 but his bat remained consistent as he led the NL with 198 hits while compiling a .307 average. In the fifth game of the seven-game World Series loss to Oakland, he led off by homering off ace RHP Jim “Catfish” Hunter, who he had publicly disparaged.

1973 Season Summary

Appeared in 160 games

LF – 159, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 752 [1]

At Bats – 680 [1]

Runs – 115 [3]

Hits – 230 [1]

Doubles – 36 [3, tied with Ted Simmons & Rusty Staub]

Triples – 8 [5, tied with Lou Brock & Darrell Evans]

Home Runs – 5

RBI – 64

Bases on Balls – 65

Int. BB – 6

Strikeouts – 42

Stolen Bases – 10

Caught Stealing – 7 [15, tied with six others]

Average - .338 [1]

OBP - .401 [6]

Slugging Pct. - .437

Total Bases – 297 [6, tied with Tony Perez]

GDP – 14

Hit by Pitches – 6 [9, tied with five others]

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 0

League-leading plate appearances were +14 ahead of runner-up Bobby Bonds

League-leading at bats were +12 ahead of runner-up Ralph Garr

League-leading hits were +30 ahead of runner-up Ralph Garr

League-leading batting average was +.018 ahead of runner-up Cesar Cedeno

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 19, 3B – 5, HR – 2, RBI – 34, AVG - .324, OBP - .397

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Atlanta 7/26

Longest hitting streak – 17 games

Most HR, game – 1 on five occasions

HR at home – 3

HR on road – 2

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Houston 9/4 – 10 innings

Pinch-hitting – 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 361

Put Outs – 343

Assists – 15

Errors – 3

DP – 0

Pct. - .992

Postseason Batting: 5 G (NLCS vs. NY Mets)

PA – 23, AB – 21, R – 3, H – 8, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – 1, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .381, OBP - .435, SLG -.714, TB – 15, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star (Started for NL in LF)

 

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Pete Rose, Cin.: 274 pts. – 12 of 24 first place votes, 82% share

Willie Stargell, Pitt.: 250 pts. – 10 first place votes, 74% share

Bobby Bonds, SF: 104 pts.  – 1 first place vote, 52% share

Joe Morgan, Cin.: 102 pts. – 1 first place vote, 30% share

Mike Marshall, Mon.: 93 pts. – 28% share

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Reds went 99-63, to finish first in the NL Western Division by 3.5 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers while leading the league in stolen bases (148). 11 games behind the Dodgers at the end of June, “the Big Red Machine” swept a July 1 double header against LA to begin chipping away at the deficit. A 41-18 July and August record pulled the Reds to within three games of the Dodgers entering September, when a 19-8 tally to wrap up the season propelled them past LA to the NL West title. Lost NLCS to the New York Mets, 3 games to 2 in a series highlighted by the Game 3 fight between Rose and New York SS Bud Harrelson in a game that was ultimately a 9-2 win for the Mets.

Aftermath of ‘73:

Rose, who followed up by batting .284 with NL-leading totals of 110 runs scored and 45 doubles in 1974, stayed with the Reds through the 1978 season, remaining a consistent .300 hitter who also topped the NL in doubles in 1975, ’76, and ’78. Cincinnati won the World Series in 1975 and ’76. In 1978 he put together a NL-record 44-game hitting streak to add to his list of achievements in addition to reaching his 3000^th career hit. He also made a position change to third base in 1975, where he remained through ’78. In the 1978 offseason he became a free agent and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, who won a spirited bidding war for his services at $3.2 million for four years. Installed at first base, where incumbent Richie Hebner was dealt away, “Charley Hustle” batted .331 with a league-best .418 on-base percentage for the injury-riddled Phillies, who finished in fourth place in the NL East. Rose appeared in every game and established himself as a team leader, which helped the club regain first in the division in 1980 on the way to winning the first World Series championship in franchise history. He contributed a .282 average and league-leading 42 doubles as well as solid defensive play. During the strike-interrupted 1981 season Rose batted .325 with a league-leading 140 hits. Along the way he passed Stan Musial’s NL record for career hits. 1982 proved to be the last season that the impressively durable Rose appeared in 162 games while hitting .271 at age 41. Joined by former Reds teammates Joe Morgan and Tony Perez in 1983, Rose split time between first base and right field for the first several weeks of the season before settling back at first. Not hitting well by the end of August, he spent most of September on the bench as Len Matuszek took over at first base down the stretch. The Phillies won the NL East and the league pennant and, with Matuszek ineligible for the postseason, Rose returned to the lineup and batted .344 in nine games that ended in World Series defeat. Released in the offseason, he signed with the Montreal Expos. He hit .259 in 95 games with the Expos before he was dealt back to the Reds, where he became player/manager. Remaining in the dual role in 1985 and appearing as a first baseman and pinch-hitter, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s career record for hits with his 4192^nd. For the year he hit .264 and Cincinnati finished second in the NL West. He was active as a player for one more season in 1986, following which he stayed on as manager until August of 1989 when he was banned from organized baseball by commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti for betting on baseball games during his managerial tenure. For his major league career, Rose appeared in a record 3562 games and batted .303 with the final record total of 4256 hits that included 746 doubles, 135 triples, and 160 home runs. He scored 2165 runs and compiled 1314 RBIs and set additional career records with 15,890 plate appearances and 14,053 at bats. With the Reds he batted .307 with 3358 hits, 601 doubles, 115 triples, 152 home runs, 1036 RBIs, and 1741 runs scored. Appearing in 67 postseason games, Rose hit .321 with 5 home runs and 22 RBIs. A 17-time All-Star, he remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration. His managerial record with the Reds was 412-373. The Reds retired his #14. Rose also spent five months in federal prison for income tax evasion, and there have been other allegations leveled against him regarding off-field behavior. His son Pete Jr. played briefly for the Reds in 1997.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.