Pete Rose Death: The Clark County coroner reveals details about the death of the MLB legend and former Phillies player

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Officials announced more details Tuesday about the death of Pete Rose, the MLB’s all-time leader to be banned from baseball.

According to the Clark County coroner, Rose, 83, died Monday at his home in Las Vegas. The cause of death was determined to be high blood pressure and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. According to officials, Rose was also battling a serious illness from diabetes mellitus.

READ MORE: Embattled MLB legend and former Phillies player Pete Rose dies at 83

According to the Mayo Clinic, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a heart disease that causes thickening of the arteries that carry oxygen and nutrients to the heart and the rest of the body. Hypertension is a condition that causes high blood pressure and is a risk factor for heart disease.

For fans who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, no player was more exciting than the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 14, “Charlie Hustle.”

In the early days of artificial turf, divisional play and free agency, Rose was old-fashioned, a conscious throwback to baseball’s early days. Millions will never forget him hunched over and scowling at the plate, running at full speed for the first time even after taking a step, or sprinting to the next base and diving headfirst into the bag.

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In Philadelphia, Rose made four All-Star appearances and helped the Phillies to one of their two World Championships during his five seasons from 1979 to 1983.

The long-time Cincinnati Red was the career all-time leader in baseball (4,256), surpassing his hero Ty Cobb’s 4,191 and exemplifying his excellence regardless of the fame that followed. Overall, it was so extraordinary that you could achieve an average of 200 hits over a period of 20 years and still come up short.

Looking Back at Pete Rose’s MLB Career | Photo gallery

But despite his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams, Rose was suspended in 1989 after a Major League Baseball investigation revealed that he had bet on baseball, including on his own team.

On March 20, 1989, Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth (soon to be succeeded by A. Bartlett Giamatti) announced that his office was conducting a “comprehensive investigation into serious allegations” against Rose. He had reportedly relied on a network of bookmakers, friends and others in the gambling world to place bets on baseball games, including some involving the Reds.

Rose denied any wrongdoing, but the investigation found that “the collected witness statements, along with the documentary evidence and telephone records, reveal extensive betting activities by Pete Rose in connection with professional baseball games and, in particular, Cincinnati Reds games during the 1985 season.” 1986 and 1987 baseball Seasons.

Rose’s story finally changed when he admitted in a 2004 autobiography that he had bet on baseball, including Reds games, but had never bet against his team.

“I don’t think betting is morally wrong. “I don’t even think betting on baseball is morally wrong,” Rose wrote in “Play Hungry,” a memoir published in 2019. “There are legal ways and illegal ways.” And the way I bet on baseball was against the rules of baseball.

Despite acknowledging the betting, Rose was never inducted into the Hall during his lifetime, although he received 41 votes in 1992 (when 323 votes were needed), around the time the Hall officially decided that those who were excluded from the game were, could never be admitted.

Shortly after the ban went into effect, Rose was convicted of tax evasion and spent several months in prison. Additionally, an unidentified woman claimed in a 2017 court document that Rose had a sexual relationship with her for several years in the 1970s, starting before she turned 16. Rose admitted he had a sexual relationship with the woman, but said he believed it began when she was 16 – the legal age of consent in Ohio.

Rose’s career is well represented in Cooperstown. Items in the Baseball Hall of Fame include his helmet from his 1973 MVP season; the bat he used in 1978 when his hitting streak reached 44 games; and the football boots he wore in 1985, the day he was named the game’s hits leader.

ESPN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.