No matter what you think of Rose as a man, if you think he’s a dirty gambler who controlled the fates of his teams for some extra dinero, you can’t deny he is the fucking Hit King. The master of contact. A lifetime .303 BA, 4256 hits speak for themselves. His longevity is massively underrated as well. He’s the career leader in games played (3562), plate appearances (15,890), and at-bats (14,053). And on this day, he made crossed an important milestone to becoming the undisputed Hit King. Passing Stan Musial. This was the final game in the 1981 season before the strike hit, delaying the season until August 9th with the All-Star game kicking things off again. Rose would again lead the majors in hits that year with 140, and he would finish ’81 with a robust .325 BA. With Musial passed, there was only one man standing in his way of becoming the all-time leader in hits. Ty Cobb.
On This Day: Pete Rose Ties Stan Musial’s NL Hits Record
