Peter Edward "PJ" Rose Jr. (born November 16, 1969) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and manager. The son of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

's all-time hits leader

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of ...

, Rose Jr. played in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

s for most of his career except for a brief stint in for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. Rose has since worked as a manager of multiple teams in both affiliated and independent minor league baseball.

Early life

Peter Edward "PJ" Rose Jr. was born on November 16, 1969, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Rose was often shown on national television during his childhood years as a

batboy In baseball, a bat boy or bat girl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing Baseball (ball), baseballs to the umpi ...

for his father's teams. When his father joined the Phillies in 1979, Rose spent time with

Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American professional baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2009. As ...

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who is a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glo ...

, Ryan Luzinski, and Mark McGraw in the Phillies clubhouse. He appeared on a 1982 Fleer baseball card (#640) titled "Pete & Re-Pete; Pete Rose & son" with his father; he was twelve at the time. As a teenager, on September 11, 1985, he made an emotional on-field appearance live on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

to celebrate with his father after Rose Sr. broke

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

's record for most career hits. In his youth, Rose played baseball for

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

, a suburb of Cincinnati.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Rose would later become a fixture in baseball's minor leagues. He began his pro baseball career when he was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

and was assigned to the Erie Orioles of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

in 1989. In 1990 he joined the class A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. In 1992 he played for the Columbus Red Stixx of the class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. In 1993 he returned to the Carolina League this time playing for the Prince William Cannons (Woodbridge, Virginia -White Sox affiliate). In April 1994 Rose was signed by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. Rose's best minor league season was in 1997 at

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, for the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

, at age 27. He hit .308 in 112 games with 25

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 98 RBIs, 31 doubles and 75 runs scored for the Lookouts.

Cincinnati Reds (1997)

Later that year, Rose was called up to the

for his only appearances in the major leagues. He hit .143 in 11 games for the Reds, but was widely shown on popular sports highlight shows when he copied his father's famous crouching batting stance during the first pitch of his first Major League at-bat. The junior Rose's two MLB hits give him and his father 4,258 combined hits, the fourth-most ever by a father and son behind

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People *Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (surname), a list of surnames * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwrit ...

and

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., and Gus and

Buddy Bell David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951) is an American former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds. After an 18-year ...

. The Roses are also the only father-and-son combo to get over 6,000 hits in professional baseball, including both majors and minors, with 6,467 at the end of 2009. In 1998, while playing for the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, Rose and three teammates hit for the rare "homer cycle" in one inning; Rose opened the inning with a solo home run; Jason Williams, three at-bats later, hit a three-run home run; four batters later, Glen Murray hit a grand slam; and two hitters later, Guillermo Garcia hit a two-run shot to complete the cycle. Rose played for the

Tigres de Chinandega The Tigres de Chinandega (English: ''Chinandega Tigers'') are a baseball club that competes in the Nicaragua Professional Baseball League (LPBN), representing the city of Chinandega. The team has won the league championship four times, in 2006, 2 ...

, a

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

n professional baseball team during the – offseason. In 2007 and 2008, he played for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the independent Atlantic League. He signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

on June 27, 2009, and was released on September 14.

Coaching career

In 2011, Rose joined the White Sox coaching staff and became the manager of their

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

(rookie league) affiliate in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. In 2013, he moved up to the Pioneer League with the affiliate in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. After one season, he advanced to the lower-A

team in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

. On February 16, 2016, Rose was named manager of the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 sea ...

in the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. In 2017, the team announced that his contract would not be renewed.

Conviction for GBL distribution

In November 2005, Rose was indicted for distributing gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) to his Lookouts teammates in the late 1990s. GBL is known to be sold under the counter at retailers as a sports performance enhancer as well as a sedative. When taken orally, GBL is converted to the "date-rape" drug GHB amma hydroxybutyrate Rose pleaded guilty to this charge on November 7, 2005, claiming that he distributed GBL to teammates to help them relax after games. On May 1, 2006, Rose was convicted and sentenced to one month in

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

and house arrest for five more months after release from prison. During that time, he started with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

on July 25, 2006, and played for them through the remainder of the 2006 season. In December 2007, Rose's name was released in

Kirk Radomski Kirk J. Radomski (born 1969) is an American former batboy and clubhouse employee, colloquially known by players as Murdock, for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1995. On April 27, 2007, he pleaded guilty in United States dis ...

's unsealed affidavit as an alleged user of

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

. Rose was one of only four baseball players listed in the affidavit who was not referenced in the

Mitchell Report The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...

, together with

Sid Fernandez Charles Sidney Fernandez (born October 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

, Rick Holyfield, and Ryan Schurman.

Career statistics

Minor League

*Games: 1,918 *At Bats: 6,938 *Hits: 1,879 *Runs: 897 *Doubles: 357 *Triples: 30 *Home runs: 158 *Runs batted in: 536 *Batting average: .271 *Bases on balls: 723 *Strikeouts: 825 *Stolen bases: 36 *Caught stealing: 27

Major League

*Games: 11 *At bats: 14 *Runs scored: 2 *Hits: 2 *Doubles: 0 *Triples: 0 *Home runs: 0 *Runs batted in: 1 *Total bases: 2 *Bases on balls: 2 *Strikeouts: 9 *Stolen bases: 0 *Caught stealing: 0 *On-base percentage: .250 *Slugging percentage: .143 *Batting average: .143

References

''Another Pete Rose Plays Ball'', CBS News, 48 Hours (June 28, 2001)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Pete Jr. 1969 births Living people American sportspeople convicted of crimes Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball infielders Minor league baseball managers American drug traffickers American expatriate baseball players in Canada American sportspeople in doping cases Baseball infielders Birmingham Barons players Bridgeport Bluefish players Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus RedStixx players Doping cases in baseball Drugs in sport in the United States Erie Orioles players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast White Sox players Hickory Crawdads players Indianapolis Indians players Joliet JackHammers players Kinston Indians players Lincoln Saltdogs players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball replacement players Nashville Sounds players New Jersey Jackals players Newark Bears players Prince William Cannons players Reading Phillies players Sarasota White Sox players South Bend Silver Hawks players Tigres del Chinandega players Winnipeg Goldeyes players York Revolution players Baseball players from Cincinnati American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Cafeteros de Córdoba players Algodoneros de Guasave players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico