Pete Rose had one of the best careers in baseball.  In his career, the man known as one of baseball’s best hitters, was able to win three World Series championships, capture three National League Batting titles and earn 17 All-Star appearances.  However, even for one of baseball’s all-time greats, the MVP award proved to be an elusive honor for Rose.

On this day, November 21st, in 1973, Pete Rose won the only MVP award of his career. In his 1973 season, Rose led the league with 230 hits and a .338 batting average, earning him the NL MVP award.  Rose’s great hitting helped lead the Reds to the NLCS, where he hit .381.

Rose would not be able to repeat the dominance of the 1973 season, but did hit a record 4,256 hits by the time he retired in 1986.