Rose managed to bet 'em all

By From Wire Services  |  March 15, 2007

Pete Rose said he bet on the Cincinnati Reds "every night" when he was the team's manager, rather than four times a week as Major League Baseball's all-time hit leader maintained for three years.

Rose said in his 2004 book that he gambled on his team in the late 1980s, after denying for 15 years that he bet on baseball at all. Wagering on the sport is forbidden by major league rules.

"I bet on my team every night," Rose said yesterday in an interview on ESPN Radio. "I didn't bet on my team four nights a week. So I wasn't sending a signal out to the people that I'm not going to use my closer on Friday night or Saturday night. I was wrong."

MLB banned Rose in 1989 for gambling after investigator John Dowd found he bet on Cincinnati during the 1985-87 seasons. The banishment makes Rose ineligible for the Hall of Fame, even though he holds the record for career hits with 4,256.

Rose managed the Reds for six seasons, compiling a 412-373 record. He played and managed during the 1984-1986 seasons.

Rose denied betting on baseball for 15 years until he said in his book, "My Prison Without Bars," that he confessed to commissioner Bud Selig when he sought to have the ban lifted. He said he told the commissioner he bet on the Reds four or five times a week and only to win.

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