[mrreality68]

Yes Pete Rose Was the last.

I believe it was used for 2 primary reasons.

1. 1 player/manager is one salary vs 2 salary’s so the teams save money
2. A way to incentivize the player to play on your team so attracting the player and also as an attendance draw because usually the player manager was a popular player

The major drawer back to this is as the player can no longer play but perhaps keeps themselves active as their skills decline or ties up a roster spot