MLB: Baseball legend Pete Rose dies

US baseball legend Pete Rose is dead. The former idol, whose successes were overshadowed by a betting scandal, died on Monday at the age of 83 in the US state of Nevada, according to authorities. As a result, Rose was denied induction into the baseball hall of fame. He also made headlines in the US for having a child out of wedlock and filing false tax returns, which landed him in prison for five months.

Rose set a record with 4,256 hits. When he became the sole record holder in September 1985, then US President Ronald Reagan called him to congratulate the then 44-year-old. In total, Rose played in the US professional league MLB for 24 years, 18 of them for the Cincinnati Reds. He was named to the All-Star team 17 times and won the championship, the so-called World Series, three times.

“I went through hell in a gas suit to play baseball,” was a famous saying from Rose, who was known as a hard worker. Reds owner Bob Castellini praised him as one of the toughest competitors the game has ever seen. “We must never forget what he achieved.”

Trump to induct Rose into Hall of Fame

The league expressed its condolences in a short statement on Platform Rose repeatedly denied the allegations but agreed to a lifetime ban. He later admitted that he now legally bets on baseball. “I don’t think betting is morally wrong. “I don’t even think betting on baseball is morally wrong,” Rose wrote in 2019.

His supporters also include Donald Trump, who said in 2015 – before he was elected US President – that he could not believe that Rose had not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. “He paid the price. So ridiculous – let him in,” Trump wrote at the time.