Pete Rose died of natural causes, the Clark County (Nev.) coroner’s office announced Tuesday, a day after baseball’s all-time hit king died at age 83 at his home in Las Vegas.
The statement from coroner Melanie Rouse identified the causes as “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with a significant condition of diabetes mellitus.”
Hypertension is better known as high blood pressure. Atherosclerosis is hardening of the arteries due to a build-up of plaque, per the Cleveland Clinic’s website.
One day before he died, Rose attended a collectibles show in Nashville, where he was photographed in a wheelchair, alongside former Cincinnati Reds teammates Ken Griffey Sr., Tony Perez, George Foster and Dave Concepcion.
In a 24-year major league career with the Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Montreal Expos, Rose compiled 4,256 hits, topping the mark formerly held by Ty Cobb. He also is the sport’s all-time leader with 3,562 games and 14,053 at-bats.
Rose ranks sixth on the all-time runs list with 2,165. He amassed a .303 career average with a .375 on-base percentage, a .409 slugging percentage, 160 home runs, 198 stolen bases, 746 doubles and 1,314 RBIs.
He won three World Series championships as a player. Rose became the player/manager of the Reds from 1984 to 1986, and he continued to manage the club until receiving a lifetime ban from the major leagues in 1989 for gambling on baseball.
Rose denied the gambling allegations until finally admitting it in a 2004 book. He sought to be reinstated by MLB, but it never occurred, which is why he remains ineligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
