The Pete Rose Debate

Below this article you will find my usual notes and numbers, but with all the talk that the Rose debate has been given lately, I want to pass along this man's opinion. Also, I am stuck at the office all day and night and have nothing better to do...

So we all know that Charlie the Hustler has been banned from baseball for about 20 years now. He was banned for aledgedly betting on baseball, betting on his own team, and presumably for betting against his own team. When this all went down, I agreed 100% that he should be banned for life. Baseball took its stance on gambling long before any of us were born, has been very clear on what the penalty is for participating in it, and has never waivered in that. Therefore, ban his ass and don't look back. At least that's the way I saw it.

The ultimate reality is that Pete knew damn well what he was doing and also knew what would happen to him if he got caught, which he did. Because of that, I felt right about my personal opinion on the matter. However, I feel that there are a few things that have occurred lately that may change my/our minds on this. Since Bud Selig has been in office, the game has changed dramatically:

1) We now have interleague play (which I hate). Thanks, Bud.

2) We have gone through the juiced ball era and, yes, I do believe that the balls were juiced after the '94 strike in order to bring fans back to the game. Thanks again, Bud.

3) We have gone through, and still may be in, the juiced player era in which the league turned its head for many years, hoping that no one would pick up on players like Brady Anderson and Brett Boone, much less the obvious roid boys. Thanks again, Bud.

4) We had an All Star game end in a tie. Thanks again, Bud.

5) We have a meaningless midseason classic that determines which team gets home field advantage in the World Series. Thanks again, Bud.

With all of this bullshit that us fans have had to deal with, it has become very hard, for me at least, to continue to be a baseball purest. Seriously, what is still pure about this game? Designated hitters, no more scheduled double headers, lights at Wrigley, no day playoff games, free agents, fire sales, no salary cap, new parks everywhere, etc. The term Bastardized comes to mind. So if everything else about the game has changed over the years, why not the leagues position on the gambling ban? Just asking.

Personally, I do not have a dog in this fight. Pete Rose is, and always has been, one of the true jerks of the game. But we do not penalize guys for that. If we did, Ty Cobb, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Ricky Henderson, Bob Feller, and yes, Ted Williams himself would have been ousted long ago. So based on that, who cares if he was a jerk? Not me, that's for sure. So we have to go back to the gambling point and, now that I have given a little background I will get to what I think.

Pete Rose should be allowed to have his bust in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, I said it. Seriously, it's just a statue of him. What he did as a player clearly places him among the top 20 all time hitters in the history of the game. I do, however, have two stipulations:

1) If Pete goes, so does Shoeless Joe. There is absolutely no indisputable evidence that Jackson had anything to do with the Black Sox scandal. If I'm not mistaken he hit over .400 in the series, hit the only Home Run in the series, and committed zero errors. If Pete goes, Joe goes. And they should go in together.

2) While I am fine with Pete getting his day in the sun, I do not for one second agree with him ever being able to participate in Major League Baseball again. It is common knowledge that Rose wants to manage again. Sorry pal, you blew that one. One slip up of any kind would give baseball the ultimate black eye, worse than the slew of them the game has already accumulated. No participation under any circumstances.

So that's my view, but we are not done just yet. Oh, no. Even if Pete were to get reinstated, which I really doubt will ever happen under Bud's watch, he will have to be elected to the Hall by the Veteran's Committee. Who do you think is the most surly bunch when it comes to baseball purity? Exactly. I think it will be very difficult for Pete to get into the Hall if these are the guys he has to depend on. Many members of The Big Red Machine will have nothing to do with him and have shunned him publicly. And these are the same guys he would consider to be his greatest advocates.

Pete, you may be fucked.

One man's opinion...