Major League Baseball

Report: Uncovered documents show Pete Rose bet on baseball as a player

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:36 p.m. ET

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Long-buried documents show that Pete Rose bet on baseball while still playing for the Cincinnati Reds, according to a report Monday by ESPN's Outside the Lines.

A now-unearthed notebook, seized in 1989 on a raid of the New York home of a known Rose associate and sealed by the U.S. government in connection with a separate case, contains writings of gambling lines and references to the name "Pete." Two officials involved with the original raid have verified the notebook's authenticity, according to ESPN.

The documents go beyond the original 1989 Dowd report into Rose's alleged gambling that led to Rose's banishment from baseball and his ongoing exclusion from the Hall of Fame. They appear to show proof that Rose placed bets in 1986 while still a player-manager for the Reds, though the report says there is no evidence that he bet against his own team.

In 2004, Rose admitted to betting on baseball as a manager but has steadfastly maintained that he did not bet as a player.

Rose, who in March applied to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement, issued the following statement to ESPN through his lawyer: "Since we submitted the application earlier this year, we committed to MLB that we would not comment on specific matters relating to reinstatement. I need to maintain that. To be sure, I'm eager to sit down with Manfred to address my entire history -- the good and the bad -- and my long personal journey since baseball. That meeting likely will come sometime after the All-Star break. Therefore at this point, it's not appropriate to comment on any specifics."

The existence of the notebook has been known for some time, but requests from various outlets to obtain it have been denied until now. John Dowd, the former federal prosecutor who led MLB's investigation in the 80's, called the notebook "the final piece of the puzzle" in the case against Rose.

Rose's 4,256 career hits are still the all-time MLB record, making him the most significant player not currently in the Hall of Fame. He is now an analyst for FOX Sports 1's baseball coverage.

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