Pete Rose Career Stats: A look at the career record of the controversial MLB legend

Pete Rose is widely regarded as one of the best players to ever play the game of baseball. Throughout the mid-1970s, his name became synonymous with World Series titles.

Rose, a native of Cincinnati, began his career with the Reds in 1963. That season, he hit six home runs and 41 RBIs, and batted .273. Although by today's standards, these numbers would be mediocre at best, they were strikingly good at the time.

Rose captured the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year Award in his first season with the Cincinnati Reds.

"Pete Rose is baseball" - @ Pittsburghpirateguru

Rose won the NL MVP Award in 1973, and played a total of 16 seasons for the Reds before heading to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980. After a brief stint playing for the now defunct Montreal Expos, Rose returned to the Reds to finish his career at Cincinnati in 1986.

Pete Rose was a central part of the 1970s Reds, who are remembered to this day as one of the game's most dominant dynasties. Between 1970 and 1979, the team won six division titles, four NL pennants, and averaged over 95 wins per season.

Cincinnati defeated the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, respectively, in the 1975 and 1976 World Series, with Rose playing a starring role.

To this day, Rose holds some of the most important records in the MLB. He played 3,562 games, more than any other player in history. In that time, he made 15,890 plate appearances and registered 4,256 hits, also more than any other player has registered to this day.

"Rod Carew slides into third ahead of Pete Rose’s tag in the 1978 All Star game." - @ Baseball in Pics

Rose came under intense scrutiny later in his career after it was revealed that he bet multiple times on baseball games that he was involved in. This was a serious infraction and he was eventually placed on the ineligible players list.

This permanently blacklists him from ever gaining entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Pete Rose represents a different era of baseball

Rose played in an epoch of baseball history that was more about contact than power.

His ability to get on base and get a hit in almost any situation is what sets him apart. Although his career home run numbers do not measure up to today's sluggers, Rose is still one of the very best to ever play the sport.