Glew: Remembering Pete Rose’s tenure with the Montreal Expos

Pete Rose, who passed away on September 30 at the age of 83, played for the Montreal Expos in 1984.

*This was first published on Cooperstowners in Canada on October 2, 2024.

October 15, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, passed away on September 30 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 83.

Officials from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner in Nevada shared that Rose died of heart disease.

Rose had just participated in an autograph signing event with four of his Big Red Machine teammates – George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey – in Nashville, Tenn., the previous day.

“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” said Bob Castellini, the Cincinnati Reds principal owner and managing partner in a statement. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him. Pete was a Red through and through. No one loved the game more than Pete and no one loved Pete more than Reds Country. We must never forget what he accomplished.”

Raised in Cincinnati

Born on April 14, 1941 in a blue-collar neighborhood in Cincinnati, Rose lived and breathed baseball from a young age. A scrappy, standout infielder on his high school team, Rose signed with the hometown Reds on July 8, 1960.

He rose through the Reds’ minor league ranks to become the National League Rookie of the Year in 1963. From there, he became a perennial All-Star and a sparkplug atop the Reds order for the next 15 seasons. Rose was voted National League MVP in 1973 and helped propel the Big Red Machine to four National League pennants and two World Series titles.

He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1978 season and proceeded to lead them to two pennants and one World Series title before signing with the Montreal Expos in January 1984. He played 95 games for the Expos prior to returning to the Reds as a player-manager for parts of three seasons.

In all, in 24 major league campaigns, Rose was a 17-time All-Star and three-time batting champion. He still holds major league records in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215).

But his career on the field was sullied by his actions away from it. In 1989, he was banned from Major League Baseball by commissioner Bart Giamatti after an investigation concluded that he had bet on games when he was the Reds manager. This ban also made him ineligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Despite his flaws, Rose remained hugely popular. His hardnosed, all-out style earned him the nickname “Charlie Hustle” and the adoration of millions. In 1999, Rose was voted to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Seven years later, he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame and a statue was erected of him outside Great American Ball Park in 2017.

To his dying day, Rose – along with his legions of fans – had hoped his ban from Major League Baseball would be lifted and that he’d be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but it never happened.

Tenure with Montreal Expos

Some of Rose’s most ardent fans are in Montreal. In 48 games at Jarry Park as a Red, Rose batted .332 with 65 hits and 50 runs. His .428 on-base percentage, .490 slugging percentage and .918 OPS at Jarry Park were his highest at any big-league park.

His numbers were more modest at Olympic Stadium – .277 with 99 hits in 103 games – but his grit and win-at-any-cost attitude endeared him to many. And after he was part of the Phillies’ 1983 National League pennant winning squad – the sixth pennant winning team Rose had been a part of – the Expos were in the market for a leader to help them return to the post-season.

After coming within one win of advancing to the World Series in 1981, the Expos – with an All-Star core of Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Tim Wallach and Steve Rogers – had finished third in the National League East in 1982 and 1983.

Rose had turned 42 and had batted a career-low .245 in 151 games with the Phillies in 1983 and they decided not to bring him back. So, Rose headed into a free agency just 10 hits shy of 4,000 for his career and 199 short of Ty Cobb’s all-time major league record. And he openly campaigned for the Expos to sign him.

“I think I’m perfect for the second spot in the [Expos] batting order,” Rose told Ian MacDonald of the Montreal Gazette for their January 18, 1984 edition. “With Tim Raines leading off, me second, Dawson third, Oliver fourth and Carter fifth — that would be awesome. One just feeds off the other in a lineup like that. I’d be getting more fastballs and more hits . . . It reminds me of Cincinnati [Big Red Machine] only better.”

At that point, Expos general manager John McHale was still weighing the pros and cons of signing Rose. He wasn’t sure what position the gritty veteran would play. The switch-hitting Rose had been a first baseman for the past five seasons and the Expos had Al Oliver at that position. Rose then volunteered to play left field but that would require shifting Tim Raines to another outfield position.

On January 20, 1984, McHale and the Expos announced they had inked Rose to a one-year, $700,000 contract that included incentives that could make it worth more than $1 million.

“This is a proposal to win,” McHale told reporters. “They [Rose and his agent] didn’t change a comma in our proposal. We are not taking advantage of Rose chasing a record. This is not a show business stance on our part. There are incentive clauses and they are all based on winning.

“I like his attitude,” added McHale about Rose. “He wants to have a good year so he can get a bigger contract next year when he will be closer to the record. Hopefully, that will be with us.”

At his Expos introductory press conference, Rose told reporters that his plan was to start in left field and bat second. When reporters asked him if at 42 his body could endure crashing into the outfield walls?

“Why not?” Rose cracked. “If I have to run into the wall to catch the f—n’ ball, I will.”

He reiterated that he signed with the Expos to help them win games.

“When I play baseball, the most important thing is to win. The next best thing is to have fun,” said Rose. “The best way to have fun is winning.”

For his part, Raines, who would be shifted to centre field to accommodate Rose, was excited to have Charlie Hustle as a teammate.

“That’s great,” Raines told the Montreal Gazette when informed of the Rose signing. “They say wherever he goes, it brings championships. I hope that’s true for a third time.”

4,000th hit

Rose was almost right at his introductory press conference when he said he would be hitting second and playing left field for the Expos. On Opening Day, he was hitting leadoff and playing left field and he would have nine hits in his first seven games. This left him one short of 4,000 heading into the Expos’ home opener against the Phillies on April 13 at Olympic Stadium.

In the fourth inning of that contest, batting right-handed against Phillies lefty, Jerry Koosman, Rose doubled down the right-field line to reach the milestone.

The 48,060 fans at Olympic Stadium gave Rose a standing ovation.

“I don’t know what it means,” Rose told the Montreal Gazette after the game about the milestone. “All the hits are the same to me. Baseball is a game of peaks and valleys. This was a high for me.”

That milestone was, indeed, the high point of Rose’s tenure with the Expos. By early May, to his chagrin, he was being used more frequently as a pinch-hitter by manager Bill Virdon. In June, he was moved to first base and saw more regular playing time.

Overall, Rose managed to have five, three-hit games with the Expos. His best performance came on July 4 against the Atlanta Braves at Fulton County Stadium when he went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs, two walks and an RBI in the Expos’ 7-4 win.

By early August, however, Rose was unhappy with his playing time and asked to be traded. At that time, the Reds were near the bottom of the National League West standings and they expressed interest in hiring Rose as a player-manager.

Traded back to Reds

On August 16, 1984, Rose was dealt back to the Reds for utility infielder Tom Lawless. In all, in 95 games with the Expos, Rose batted .259 and collected 72 hits.

Rose served as a player-manager with the Reds for parts of three seasons. On September 11, 1985, he broke Cobb’s all-time hits record.

He’d hang up his playing spikes after the 1986 campaign but he continued to manage the Reds until 1989 when he was banned from Major League Baseball.

Rose spent much of the rest of his life signing autographs in Las Vegas and at events across the country, including at Cooperstown on induction weekend.

“Major League Baseball extends its deepest condolences to Pete Rose’s family, his friends across the game, and the fans of his hometown of Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Montreal and beyond who admired his greatness, grit and determination on the field of play,” a statement issued by Major League Baseball read after Rose’s death. “May he rest in peace.”