The Madison Mallards have announced Major League Baseball’s all-time hits king, Pete Rose, will headline the team’s sixth annual MLB Alumni Game presented by West Bend to be held Sunday, August 14, at 5:05 p.m. at the newly renovated “Duck Pond.”
Rose will begin signing autographs at 3:05 p.m. and will only sign one item per fan.
The event’s list of former headliners is impressive, including Harmon Killebrew (’06), Rollie Fingers (’07), Ferguson Jenkins (’08), Paul Molitor (’09) and last year’s appearance by Robin Yount.
Rose, whose career spanned from 1963 to 1986, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), and at-bats (14,053). He won three World Series rings (’75, ’76, ’80), three batting titles (’68, ’69, ’73), one Most Valuable Player Award (’73), two Gold Gloves (’69, ’70), the Rookie of the Year Award (’63), and made 17 All-Star appearances at five different positions (2B, LF, RF, 3B and 1B).
Said Mallards President Vern Stenman, “Pete Rose is an icon; he stirs conversation with literally every move he makes. Bringing that conversation to the ‘Duck Pond’ this summer is sure to be memorable for our fans.”
Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle,” by Yankee-great Whitey Ford, Rose is best known for setting and holding numerous offensive records and for his aggressive base running style that included many leaping head-first slides.
He was a leader on arguably one of the game’s greatest team’s, the Cincinnati Reds, or, as many remember, “the Big Red Machine” in the 1970’s. Other members of that high-octane squad included Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez.
Rose was on top of the baseball world in 1975 after leading the Reds to a World Series Championship and being named the MVP. A few months later, he was named Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Sportsman of the Year.”
The following year, Rose and the Reds didn’t even lose a game in the playoffs, going a perfect 9-0, to remain the only team since the playoffs expanded in 1969 to go unbeaten in the postseason.
On May 5, 1978, Rose became the 13th player in major league history to collect his 3,000th career hit, with a single off Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers.
On September 11, 1985, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show.
Rose hit .300 or better in 15 of his 24 seasons in baseball and finished with a career .303 average.
