Pete Rose, who died Monday, very nearly signed with the Royals in the 1970s

After losing to the Yankees for a third straight year in the American League Championship Series, the Royals sought to upgrade their roster following the 1978 season.

So a few days after Thanksgiving, one of the most sought-after free agents stopped in Kansas City.

Pete Rose.

Rose, who died Monday at the age of 83, was coming off a season in which he batted .302, led the National League with 51 doubles and made his 12th All-Star appearance in 16 seasons with the Reds.

Cincinnati had elected to let Rose leave as a free agent, likely because he was 37 years old at the time.

Rose, who had the nickname “Charlie Hustle,” met with Royals founder Ewing Kauffman and general manager Joe Burke.

“I’m really impressed. Kansas City made me a tremendous offer,” Rose told The Star after visiting with the Royals’ top decision-makers. “It’s something I’m going to have to talk to my attorney about. It’s a first-class operation and a tremendous team that wins its division often. The secret to happiness is winning.”

Rose was playing third base at the time, and the Royals were set at that position with George Brett.

But the Royals had a plan that appealed to Rose.

“Whitey (Herzog) was not here, but my discussions with Joe Burke indicate I would be playing either in the outfield or on first base,” Rose told The Star at the time. “I would look forward to the opportunity to beat out Rod Carew as the All-Star first baseman.

“Another advantage to playing with Kansas City would be the designated hitter rule. I am 37 years old now. When I’d get to be 40, I could DH in the second games of doubleheaders, or about 15 games in a season, which would restore my strength over 162 games.”

Rose left Kansas City and considered the Royals offer, along with ones from the Cardinals, Phillies, Pirates and Braves.

Kauffman told the Associated Press that he offered Rose a multi-year contract that would have made him the highest-paid Royals player. And Rose would have a chance to be a manager, but only after starting in the minor leagues to show he could handle the job.

“I’d say the we have a 50-50 chance of getting Pete Rose,” Kauffman said. “The only thing that might stop us from getting him is the National League thing.”

Rose had 3,164 career hits when he stopped in Kansas City and had his eye on Stan Musial’s 3,630 hits, which were a National League record at the time. Ty Cobb held the MLB record with 4,191.

Kauffman let it be known that Rose shouldn’t settle for Musial’s mark, and that impressed “Charlie Hustle.”

“He knew all about my father, about how he played sports until he was in his 40s, about what shape he kept himself in,” Rose said of Kauffman in an Associated Press story. “And he pointed out to me I could go after Ty Cobb’s record for most hits ever as a player.”

Rose ultimately decided on the Phillies, and he helped Philadelphia beat the Royals in the 1980 World Series. The following summer, Rose broke Musial’s NL mark.

In 1985, Rose proved Kauffman right when he surpassed Musial’s record. At that time, Rose was a player-manager for the Reds.

But four years later, a Major League Baseball investigation found Rose had bet on games he was managing. A. Bartlett Giamatti, who was commissioner at the time, announced that Rose had agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball.

That was a significant part of any story written this week about Rose following his death. But few remember how close Rose once came to joining the Royals.