Rose was a folk hero in Cincinnati, a homegrown talent known as “Charlie Hustle” for his relentless work ethic.

There are a few active players with a shot at 3,000 hits, but you have to go down past No. 150 all-time to find a player under age 35 who is climbing the list in Derek Jeter. Alex Rodriguez (age 31 in 2007) isn’t far behind, but both of the current Yankees stars would basically have to double their hit total to pass Rose, who was a part-time player at age 45 when he passed Ty Cobb (4,191 hits) in 1985.