Pete Rose (An American Dilemma)

“Better than any previous account. Kennedy leaves no doubt about Rose’s greatness as a player or his guilt as a gambler.” —Allen Barra, The Boston Globe

Pete Rose had 4,256 hits in his Major League career. But despite being MLB’s all-time leader in base hits, Rose isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Banished from the game in August 1989 amid accusations of gambling, he was ruled ineligible for Cooperstown. Today, the question of whether Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame remains one of the most provocative in sports history.

In his intriguing examination of the Hit King’s life, New York Times–bestselling author Kostya Kennedy explores the polarizing, charismatic Rose from his early years through his singular career to his long battle to be reinstated, a fight he did not win before his death in 2024 at age 83.

Kennedy analyzes how we should evaluate Rose in an era when players accused of taking performance enhancing drugs have regularly appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot. How does the saga of “Charlie Hustle” stand up in modern baseball history? Is it time for Rose—unrepentant gambler, beguiling showman, and deeply talented athlete—to be reconsidered?

“Exceptional. Like the best writing about sport—Liebling, Angell—[Kennedy’s book] qualifies as stirring literature.” —Richard Ford, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

“Even readers who know who Mr. Rose is will learn much from . . . this book’s stacked roster of interviews and anecdotes [and] fascinating and well-chosen tangents.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A remarkable book about a fascinating, vexing figure.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review