Rose passed away at his Las Vegas home on Monday at the age of 83. Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that his cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Diabetes mellitus was noted as a contributing factor.
His manner of death was also deemed natural, the coroner said.
Rose had a 24-season career from 1963 to 1986, playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. He was named the National League MVP in 1973 and earned World Series MVP honors in 1975.
The Cincinnati Reds expressed their condolences in a report on the MLB Network on Monday.
“Our hearts are deeply saddened by the news of Pete’s passing,” Bob Castellini, Reds Principal Owner and Managing Partner said. “He was one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, and every team he played for was better because of him.
Rose’s hard-nosed approach to the game made him a superstar, but controversy clouded his reputation in later years. He was given a lifetime ban in 1989 for gambling after an investigation found that he was placing bets on the Reds to win during the 1985-1987 seasons, all while playing for – and managing – the team.
During one of his final interviews, Rose questioned the ban and hoped for a second chance.
“I was absolutely 110% wrong for what I did. But to do something like I did, and that’s bet on baseball games — and now you’re punished for the rest of your life — I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to a lot of people,” he told Nexstar’s KTLA on Sept. 9.
“There’s nothing I can change about the history of Pete Rose,” he also said during the interview. “I keep convincing myself or telling myself, ‘Hang in there, Pete, you’ll get a second chance.”
Rose the man was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but his career was well represented. Items at the museum in Cooperstown, New York, include his helmet from his MVP 1973 season, the bat he used in 1978 when his hitting streak reached 44 and the cleats he wore, in 1985, on the day he became the game’s hits king.
