FISHKILL, N.Y. – Pete Rose was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the New York-Penn League Hall of Fame, that is.
(Photo of Pete Rose courtesy of Cincinnati Reds)
Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader who was banned from Major League baseball for life for gambling in 1989, was one of three baseball greats inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame Tuesday before the league’s annual All-Star game in Fishkill, N.Y.
Joining Rose, who played for the Reds and Phillies, were former Phillies and White Sox great Dick Allen and former Yankee great Jorge Posada.
“As the oldest, continuously‐operated Class-A league in professional baseball, the list of players, coaches, field managers, general managers, and owners reads like a Who’s Who of Baseball,” said Ben Hayes, President of the New York‐Penn League. “This year’s inductees are incredibly worthy of this honor.”
According to a release from the league, the purpose of the New York‐Penn League Hall of Fame is to recognize individuals who have been a part of the league, for their overall accomplishments and contributions to the league on the field of play or in an administrative role, in addition to their overall career in baseball. The New York‐Penn League Hall of Fame was established in 2011. Inductees are nominated and voted on by New York-Penn League club officials.
Pete Rose
Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his style of play, Rose began his professional career in the NYPL with the 1960 Geneva Redlegs hitting .277 on a team that also included National Baseball Hall of Fame member Tony Perez.
Rose made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963 when he was named the NL Rookie of the Year.
In 24 MLB seasons, he hit .303 with 160 home runs and 1,314 RBI’s. Rose is the holder of numerous MLB career records including; hits (4,256), games (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215). He won 3 NL batting crowns, was named to 17 NL All-Star teams at five different positions and was part of 3 World Series championship teams (1975, 1976, 1980).
In 1999, Rose was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Dick Allen
Allen began his professional career with the NYPL’s Elmira Pioneers in 1960, hitting .281 with 8 home runs and 42 RBI.
In his 15-year MLB career, Allen hit .292 with 351 home runs and 1,119 RBI. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1964 with the Philadelphia Phillies and the AL MVP in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox.
An increasing number of baseball historians regard him as the best player not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, falling one vote short of election by the Hall of Fame’s Golden Era Committee in 2014. Famed baseball historian Bill Jenkins ranks Allen with Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Mantle, and just a notch below Babe Ruth, as the four top long-distance sluggers ever to wield a baseball bat.
Jorge Posada
Posada was drafted by the NY Yankees in the 24th round of the 1990 amateur draft. In 1991, he appeared in 71 games for the Oneonta Yankees playing the majority of his time at second base (64 games), but it was in Oneonta that Posada began his transformation into a catcher.
Posada made his MLB debut for the Yankees in 1995 and would go on to play 17 seasons in New York, serving as the primary catcher for the team from 1998 through 2010.
For his career, he hit .273 with 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI. In 125 postseason games, he added 103 hits, 11 home runs, and 42 RBI. He was a five-time all-star, and part of five World Series championship teams.
The NY Yankees retired his number 20 in 2015.
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