June 29, 1984: It seems strange that Pete Rose, so often considered a "throwback" to an earlier age, and also so often identified with his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds, and less so with the Philadelphia Phillies, could have played with a more recently-established team like the Montreal Expos. And it seems stranger still that he could have set a milestone against the Reds. But it happened.
On this day, the Expos beat the Reds, 7-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Charlie Lea went the distance for the Expos, and got the win. Joe Price started for the Reds, and got through the 1st 2 innings without allowing a run, but was taken out after that. It's not clear why: He wasn't pitching badly, and he didn't miss his next start, nor any for the rest of the season, so he wasn't injured. But the Expos rocked the next 2 Reds pitchers, Bob Owchinko and Bill Scherrer, including a home run by Tim Wallach. Gary Carter went 3-for-5. Tim Raines went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Dave Parker hit a home run for the Reds.
Rose had a bad game, going 0-for-5. Nevertheless, simply by playing, he played in his 3,309th career game, setting a new major league record. Carl Yastrzemski had retired after the last season, his 23rd in the major leagues, having played in 3,308 games, all for the Boston Red Sox. Yaz and "Charlie Hustle" had opposed each other in the 1975 World Series, and in 14 All-Star Games. (Overall, Yaz appeared in 18 ASGs, Rose in 17.)
Rose's 5-year contract with the Phillies had run out after the 1983 season, and, since he was approaching his 40th birthday, and his batting average for the season was just .245, they made no effort to sign him to a new contract. But he had 3,990 career hits, and he wanted to keep playing and break what was then considered the all-time record of 4,191 hits, held by Ty Cobb.
The Expos were willing to sign him. He got his 4,000th hit for them on April 13, 1984. On August 16, the Reds fired manager Vern Rapp, and traded reserve infielder Tom Lawless to the Expos to bring Rose home, and they named him player-manager -- as it turned out, baseball's last. Lawless played just 11 games for the Expos, collecting 3 hits.
A later check of the records showed that Cobb actually had 4,189 hits. Nevertheless, it was when Rose collected his 4,192nd, on September 11, 1985, that he was celebrated for breaking the record. He retired as a player after 1 more season, having set all-time records with 3,562 games played, 15,890 plate appearances, 14,053 official at-bats, 4,256 hits -- and 9.797 outs.
Rose managed the Reds to 4 straight 2nd-place finishes in the National League Eastern Division, from 1985 to 1988. But in 1989, he was banned from baseball. Tom Lawless remained in the major leagues through the 1990 season. He collected 110 hits in his career, about half a season's worth for Rose in his prime. But he became a successful coach, and in 2014 briefly served as manager of the Houston Astros.
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June 29, 1984 was a Friday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Bud Black outpitched Phil Niekro. George Brett went 0-for-4. So did Don Mattingly. Dave Winfield only appeared as a pinch-runner.
* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 5-3 at Shea Stadium. Steve Bedrosian, better known as a reliever, started for the Braves, and outpitched Ed Lynch. Rafael Ramírez went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Keith Hernandez hit a home run.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Ray Burris outpitched Dave Stieb. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 7-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. It was "Win Day": Steve Carlton pitched 8 innings, striking out 10, for the win, and even went 1-for-4 at the plate; while the Astros' Bob Knepper didn't get out of the 4th inning. Ozzie Virgil Jr. and Glenn Wilson hit home runs. Mike Schmidt did not play.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 13-12 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Bert Blyleven started for Cleveland, and Dave Stewart for Texas, but neither finished the 5th inning. Brook Jacoby singled Joe Carter home with the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Andre Thornton went 3-for-6 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Buddy Bell went 4-for-5 with 2 walks and a solo home run.
* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Minnesota Twins won the opener, 5-3. The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 7-5.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Richard Dotson outpitched Dennis Martínez. Ron Kittle hit a home run. Eddie Murray went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 1-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Moose Haas outpitched Ron Romanick, but needed Rollie Fingers to get the last out of a 5-hit shutout. Robin Yount went 0-for-3. Paul Molitor was injured and did not play. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with a walk. Rod Carew went 0-for-4.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 5-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Ricky Horton pitched a 2-hit shutout, beating Eric Show, who would give up Rose's 4,192nd hit the following season. The hits were a double by Kevin McReynolds and a single by Alan Wiggins. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4. For the Cards, Lonnie Smith went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Mike Jorgensen went 3-for-3 with a walk.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jeff Robinson pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching John Tudor. Jeffrey Leonard and Dan Gladden hit home runs.
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