Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, has passed away at the age of 83. Rose had obvious Hall of Fame statistics, but received a lifetime ban for betting on the game. He emerged as the Rookie of the Year in 1963. His first hit was an eighth inning triple off Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Bob Friend. Rose became part of the Cincinnati Reds “Big Red Machine” and holds the major league record for hits with 4,256, as well as games played and plate appearances. He also set the National League record for the longest hitting streak at 44 games. Pete Rose was a 17-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Rose played on three World Series winners. He was the National League MVP in 1973 and World Series MVP two years later. His cause of death has not been released, but over the weekend, he had appeared at an autograph show in Nashville with former Reds teammates Tony Perez, George Foster and Dave Concepcion.
Basketball Hall of Fame player Dikembe Mutombo has passed away at the age of 58 following a battle with brain cancer. The 7-foot-2 center played 18 NBA seasons, and is 2nd all-time in blocked shots. Mutombo was drafted fourth overall in the 1991 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets out of Georgetown. He retired in 2009.