ST. PETERSBURG, FL — On September 30, 2024, the sports world lost one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history with the passing of Pete Rose. Over a 15-year career, Rose had 4,256 base hits, playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. In 1963, a year in which Rose took home the NL Rookie of the Year award and became a superstar, legendary New York Yankee center fielder, Mickey Mantle, nicknamed him “Charlie Hustle.”
Rose was part of the “Big Red Machine” in the 1970s, leaving the Reds to join the Phillies from 1979-1983, then played one year with the Montreal Expos (1984).
Pete Rose, one of the greatest hitters to ever step to the plate but not in the Hall? – Image Credit: MLB
In mid-1984, he became the player/manager for Cincinnati, retiring as an active player in 1986 and remaining with the Reds until 1989 as their manager.
In that given year, the commissioner of baseball, Bart Giamatti, investigated Rose after betting slips with Rose’s name were found in an Ohio restaurant. Allegedly, he was betting on his team to win, and was subsequently banned from baseball, never receiving the honor of being elected to Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
So you ask, what is the irony of this story?
The Rays are one of many MLB teams partnered with a gambling company, full list below – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Bally Sports, the official television broadcaster for many MLB teams, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024, leaving those franchises without a broadcast partner. Well, without any detriment to this company, the new broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays, among other MLB teams such as the Reds, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and St. Louis Cardinals, is FanDuel — a mobile betting sportsbook.
So again, to quote the late Paul Harvey… “Now you know the rest of the story.”
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