What that would mean is that Rose, the all-time hits leader, would have a clear path to Cooperstown.
It's nearly impossible to argue against Rose's greatness, because of where he stands in the record books: the most hits, the sixth-most runs scored and the second-most doubles. But he also holds a unique place in baseball history for his actions off the field.
ESPN.com's Buster Onley writes, "during the past two decades, [Rose's] behavior has been appalling. He has been nothing less than a lowlife."
He's a lowlife who broke baseball's rules and trust, when he was caught gambling as a manager. And he proceeded to lie about it for long time.
It's true, a reinstatement for Rose would not automatically mean the Hall of Fame would be rolling out the red carpet. He would have to be elected by the Veterans Committee, as his 15 years on the Baseball writers ballot has lapsed, and that's no sure thing.
But more than that, if Rose receives a forgiveness and enters the Hall, it's a slap in the face to baseball's integrity. An integrity that has come under a fires as the game continues to be mired in steroid's era.
Character needs to count for the Hall of Fame.
You cheat, you lie, you win?
That's the message Selig and the of his cronies would send if Rose gets reinstated. That's one message baseball cannot afford to send.
3 comments:
Agreed. Pardons for people who do things off the field and try to get back into the game (Michael Vick) are one thing. Pardons for people who deliberately undermine the integrity of their sport are totally unacceptable. Sure, it sucks that Pete Rose won't be in the hall of fame with all the other roid using cheaters, but he cheated, was caught and banned in an era who's decision making should mean something. I have very little respect for Selig and the fact that he's even considering this makes that shrink even more.
Good thing this story sounds like chatter from a dying news source rather than the truth. Apparently Selig never even considered it. This subject comes up every time we talk about the HOF, and as long as Selig is around I doubt Rose will get a second chance. Although I will say, it's not like he was a serial dog murderer. He did, however, undermine the game's integrity by betting on games - a fact he has now admitted.
There does seem to be a bit of an unfair double standard here. Baseball's 'roid ragers admit nothing, undermine the game way more than Rose ever could (an entire "era" instead of one loser), and none of them are banned from baseball. What's ironic about the steroid era is that if Selig admitted that all of this happened under his watch then it would undermine his entire tenure as commish. I guess it's better to deny that there's a real problem until someone else (like maybe Congress) can come along and call him out. I say Rose's ban is rescinded when Selig's begins. Hoser.
Also, RELEASE THE WHOLE LIST! I get that there are legal issues involved and preserving the anonymity of a report is hard to work around, but this is ridiculous. It's not like I was surprised to see Manny on there. He's the one stupid enough to keep doing it! I hope everyone on the list is HOF banned like Rose.
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