Should Pete Rose Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
63Pete Rose Should Be In Cooperstown
I suspect that baseball fans will never know the complete story behind Major League Baseball's decision to ban Pete Rose for life. We've been told that he was caught gambling on his own team and that created a conflict of interest for him because as manager he had the opportunity to affect the outcome of the game. That makes perfect sense, until you consider the fact that he was never accused of betting against the Reds. It would be easy for a manager to affect the outcome of a game by making decisions that made failure more likely. But as a manager, his main job was to put out the most competitive team possible. Obviously if he was betting on his team winning he would want to do everything possible to field the most competitive team possible. Doesn't sound like a conflict of interest to me!
Pete Rose broke the law by gambling and failing to report his winnings on his taxes (something that I am sure most people who gamble could be convincted of). I was in graduate school at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale when Pete was serving his sentence at the federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, just down the road from Carbondale. To me, he has already served his sentence, he's even admitted that he did something wrong, and it's time to move on.
My suspicion is that after Pete Rose dies, somewhere down the road, some future commissioner of baseball will do what each commissioner since this scandal broke could have done, and if that happens, I can bet that Pete Rose will be elected on the first ballot. He brought a lot to the game of baseball and he deserves to be rewarded for it. He certainly belongs there more than, say, Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds, because both of those men, I believe, gave themselves unfair advantages that resulted in skewed statistics. Pete Rose became the career hits leader by working hard. After all, they don't call him Charlie Hustle for nothing!
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I used to have this real rebellious idea of starting my own mini-museum called the Banned Baseball Players Hall of Fame, featuring the likes of Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, the rest of the 1919 White Sox and the like.
I should note that although I have a healthy degree of respect for Pete Rose, I am first and foremost a Red Sox fan, so my comments on Rose are not clouded by blind devotion to the Reds.
Agreed Situations do change over time, at least our perceptions do. Great hub
Excellent topic Crash! Who's a bigger liar, Rose for saying he didn't bet on baseball or the current commissioner Bud Selig who claims he was unaware of steroids in baseball? Rose as a player was good for the game, Selig as a commissioner is bad for the game... unless you like tie scores in the All Star game... just one mans opinion...
Very nice Hub!!
Well I can't take credit for the idea - it was a request posted by another hubber. But thanks for your thoughts on what I've written. I'm glad it resonated with you.
Jim
pete rose is as much a hall-of-famer as anyone in the hall. he holds a record that he will continue to hold unless he is reincarnated, which of course won't happen for several generations. 4,256 hits is ridiculous. the only person in recent memory that would've had a glimpse of a chance is ichiro suzuki, who came to the states about 8 years too late to have a shot.
there are very few career records that have no shot of being broken: 511 wins by cy young, 5,700+ k's by nolan ryan and 5,256 hits by pete rose.
I feel he should be in the hall of fame. He earned it, which is hard for me to admit since im a Cub fan. But it's true. Great hub!
I know what you mean Allshookup. As I said above, I'm not a Reds fan, so I have no special allegiance to him. I just look at the situation and say that the guy was one of the top athletes of our time, and those people belong in the hall.
Guess I'll be preaching to the choir here, but it is impossible for me give credence to the hall of fame if they exclude Rose and others who rightly deserve to be there due to their ability to play the game, not their personal failings. If faults were a reason for exclusion in everything in life,no one would ever be recognized for greatness in a sport, business or any other occupation in life.
Vote Rose in! Go Mr. Hustle!
By the way- they filmed a good part of Field of Dreams in my old hometown of Galena, IL., and the baseball field is just about half-an-hour's drive west of there on US 20. Shoeless Joe became something of a hero in our town after that movie was made.
rose would get my vote.nobody's perfect,he deserve's to be in the hall of fame.
In a word? NO.
No, he lied about for about 15 years. He broke the most sacred rule of the game. Every minor and major league clubhouse has the rule against betting on the game posted. And besides this has nothing to do with any type of possible reinstatement to baseball. The Hallis an entity that is completely separate and has their own rules. He is a liar and a cheat, Hell no.Gary
Gary - I can certainly understand your point of view. There is no doubt that he broke the rules, and lied about it, neither of which have anything to do with the accomplishments he made on the field during his career. I can see two circumstances where Pete Rose will get into the Hall of Fame. The first, and probably most likely, is when he dies. His is a lifetime ban, but once his life is done, they can induct him. The other is if Barry "Steroids" Bonds, Roger Clemens, or even Alex Rodriguez eventually get in. They are rule breakers as well, and in Clemens' case in particular, he's been lying about it from day one. If these guys get in, the whole justification for keeping Rose out flies right out the window.
Jim
William F. Torpey says:
18 months ago
Nice job, crashcromwell. Cooperstown should include all the best ballplayers. It's a "baseball" Hall of Fame, not a cathedral for saints. Pete's record and behavior on the diamond were exemplary. I agree that someday a wise commissioner will see to it that justice prevails. It took a "Veterans Committee" vote to get Phil Rizzuto into Cooperstown. Sometimes justsice comes late, but better late than never!