Legendary Baseball Icon Passes Away at 83
The Clark County coroner’s office in Nevada announced yesterday that the baseball world has lost its all-time hit leader, who passed away peacefully at his Las Vegas home at the age of 83. The coroner’s report attributed the cause of death to natural causes, specifically hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, complicated by diabetes mellitus.
Just a day prior to his passing, the beloved baseball figure was spotted at a collectibles show in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was photographed alongside his former teammates, including Ken Griffey Sr., Tony Perez, George Foster, and Dave Concepcion.
Throughout his illustrious 24-year career, the baseball legend accumulated an impressive 4,256 hits, surpassing the previous record held by Ty Cobb. He also holds the distinction of playing in 3,562 games and taking 14,053 at-bats, making him the sport’s all-time leader in both categories.
The iconic player’s remarkable career statistics include 2,165 runs, a.303 batting average, a.375 on-base percentage, a.409 slugging percentage, 160 home runs, 198 stolen bases, 746 doubles, and 1,314 RBIs. He won three World Series championships as a player and later served as the player/manager of his team from 1984 to 1986.
Despite his impressive achievements, the baseball legend’s career was marred by controversy, including a lifetime ban from the major leagues in 1989 for gambling on baseball. Although he eventually admitted to the allegations in a 2004 book, he was never reinstated by MLB, making him ineligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.
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