The cause of death for baseball legend Pete Rose has been revealed.
Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on Cincinnati Reds games while he served as manager, died Monday at 83, the Reds confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
The Clark County (Nevada) Coroner’s Office confirmed to The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Rose died of hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, forces the heart to work harder to pump blood due to the force of the blood pressing on the artery walls, according to the Mayo Clinic, while atherosclerosis is a heart condition where a buildup of plaque blocks blood flow.
Rose made his last public appearance at the Music City Sports Collectibles and Autograph Show in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, one day before he died Monday at his Las Vegas home. At the show, Rose was pictured using a wheelchair as he reunited with former teammates Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Tony Perez and Ken Griffey Sr.
‘Amazing that they all got to see each other one last time,’ the collectibles company wrote in the caption of the photo of the quintet.
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During an appearance on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ Tuesday, fellow Reds legend Johnny Bench said he attended Saturday’s collectible show and narrowly missed reuniting with Rose on Sunday. Despite not seeing Rose, Bench said he was worried about him after his teammates expressed concern over his health.
‘The guys were very concerned about him on Sunday because they said he just wasn’t the same old Pete,’ Bench said. ‘It’s sad. It really is.’
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Rose disclosed in 2018, during divorce proceedings, that he was ‘currently disabled and can barely walk or travel.’ According to the court documents, Rose’s lawyers revealed his ‘health is deteriorating,’ adding he was on blood thinners and had three heart procedures in five years.