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HomerOne · 01-28-2015, 09:40 PM

It seems like every few years the Pete Rose sycophants come out of the woodwork and begin lamenting the fact that he's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. A couple of weeks ago when Bud Selig left office, almost immediately the sycophants came out of the woodwork again, practically begging and pleading with new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame. In the first place, that's not going to happen. The current leadership of the Hall of Fame, most of them, dislike Pete Rose and they are a very conservative group that has already made up their minds that he's not going in. In the second place, the Commissioner doesn't have the authority to put a guy into Cooperstown. All he could do is allow Rose to be voted on for the Hall of Fame which, again, will NOT happen. Even if Manfred were to do that, the Hall of Fame voters, most of them, will turn around and say "There's no way we're voting him in." Period.

I understand the love and appreciation that many baseball fans have for Pete Rose. Growing up, I looked up to him as well although my favorite player was Mike Schmidt. I emulated Pete with his crouch and his headfirst slides and I appreciated his love of the game and his work ethic. And, if there's anything good that I can say about Pete Rose, it is that he helped make his teams better. There's no way IMHO that the 1980 Phillies win a World Series without Rose. However, with the good came the bad and Rose bet on baseball as a player AND a manager which is something you just don't do if you claim to be baseball's best ambassador. If you're baseball's best ambassador, you would know that there's a huge sign in every MLB clubhouse that says gambling isn't allowed. If you're a person who respects the history of the game and the men who have played before you, then you don't break the #1 Cardinal Rule of baseball.

Now, some of you may be thinking that enough time has gone by and Pete has paid the price for his sin. I'm able to forgive and I know that Pete finally admitted what most of us suspected back in 2004. However I personally don't believe that he told the whole truth and, moreover, I can forgive but cannot forget that Pete went 15 years telling lies and smearing the names of good people like John Dowd and others who had mountains of evidence against him. I also can forgive and forget how MLB lost a great man in A. Bartlett Giamatti whose death was largely having little to do with the banishment of Pete Rose, but there's no question that he must have been under incredible stress during that time in his life. And, sadly, I think had Giamatti lived that we would have had one of the greatest MLB Commissioners of all-time. I don't think baseball would have had a strike in 1994 had Giamatti been alive nor do I think the steroids scandal would have escalated to the point that it did had he still been Commissioner. Bart genuinely and sincerely loved the game and I really believe that with all of my heart. I also genuinely and sincerely believe that he agonized over banning Pete Rose and felt terrible about doing so, but he did what was right. And if Pete had the sense back then to come clean and tell the truth, he probably would have been reinstated within 5 years. Of course, that didn't happen and Pete and his reputation still largely suffers from the ramifications of that decision.

Some people have said things like "Well, it isn't like Pete murdered someone! People have done a lot worse." My response to that is, yes, that is true. Murder is one of the worst crimes one could ever commit, but it's not the only crime. If you know that something you're going to say or do is going to hurt someone or anyone, that's not a mistake. That's a wrong. And what Pete did over a number of years was wrong.

01-28-2015, 09:40 PM	#1
HomerOne Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: USA Posts: 42	Pete Rose sycophants It seems like every few years the Pete Rose sycophants come out of the woodwork and begin lamenting the fact that he's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. A couple of weeks ago when Bud Selig left office, almost immediately the sycophants came out of the woodwork again, practically begging and pleading with new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame. In the first place, that's not going to happen. The current leadership of the Hall of Fame, most of them, dislike Pete Rose and they are a very conservative group that has already made up their minds that he's not going in. In the second place, the Commissioner doesn't have the authority to put a guy into Cooperstown. All he could do is allow Rose to be voted on for the Hall of Fame which, again, will NOT happen. Even if Manfred were to do that, the Hall of Fame voters, most of them, will turn around and say "There's no way we're voting him in." Period. I understand the love and appreciation that many baseball fans have for Pete Rose. Growing up, I looked up to him as well although my favorite player was Mike Schmidt. I emulated Pete with his crouch and his headfirst slides and I appreciated his love of the game and his work ethic. And, if there's anything good that I can say about Pete Rose, it is that he helped make his teams better. There's no way IMHO that the 1980 Phillies win a World Series without Rose. However, with the good came the bad and Rose bet on baseball as a player AND a manager which is something you just don't do if you claim to be baseball's best ambassador. If you're baseball's best ambassador, you would know that there's a huge sign in every MLB clubhouse that says gambling isn't allowed. If you're a person who respects the history of the game and the men who have played before you, then you don't break the #1 Cardinal Rule of baseball. Now, some of you may be thinking that enough time has gone by and Pete has paid the price for his sin. I'm able to forgive and I know that Pete finally admitted what most of us suspected back in 2004. However I personally don't believe that he told the whole truth and, moreover, I can forgive but cannot forget that Pete went 15 years telling lies and smearing the names of good people like John Dowd and others who had mountains of evidence against him. I also can forgive and forget how MLB lost a great man in A. Bartlett Giamatti whose death was largely having little to do with the banishment of Pete Rose, but there's no question that he must have been under incredible stress during that time in his life. And, sadly, I think had Giamatti lived that we would have had one of the greatest MLB Commissioners of all-time. I don't think baseball would have had a strike in 1994 had Giamatti been alive nor do I think the steroids scandal would have escalated to the point that it did had he still been Commissioner. Bart genuinely and sincerely loved the game and I really believe that with all of my heart. I also genuinely and sincerely believe that he agonized over banning Pete Rose and felt terrible about doing so, but he did what was right. And if Pete had the sense back then to come clean and tell the truth, he probably would have been reinstated within 5 years. Of course, that didn't happen and Pete and his reputation still largely suffers from the ramifications of that decision. Some people have said things like "Well, it isn't like Pete murdered someone! People have done a lot worse." My response to that is, yes, that is true. Murder is one of the worst crimes one could ever commit, but it's not the only crime. If you know that something you're going to say or do is going to hurt someone or anyone, that's not a mistake. That's a wrong. And what Pete did over a number of years was wrong.