Pete Rose Bet on Baseball When He Was a Player

A notebook obtained by ESPN finally shows hard evidence of what was long suspected.

And here’s why you should never keep a diary: ESPN has obtained a notebook confiscated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in October 1989 that shows hard evidence that Pete Rose bet on baseball when he was a player.

The case has haunted him for over 25 years, and though Rose finally admitted in the early aughts that he bet on baseball as a manager, there was still plenty of suspicion that he did so as a player, which he denied vehemently. 

Outside the Lines uploaded the documents which include the details of the numerous bets he placed in 1986  (he was declared permanently ineligible from baseball in 1989). While several entries are illegible, we now definitely know that he gambled on the Cincinnati Reds, his team at the time, at least 21 times for an average bet of around $2,000. 


While not entirely surprising, this new evidence will most likely silence a lot of Rose fans who have been clamoring for his reinstatement to baseball, and eventual induction into the Hall of Fame. 

Photos by Associated Press