Without rules, there’s chaos and Pete Rose broke one of the most important rules pertaining to the integrity of the game of baseball.
"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts. By choosing not to come to a hearing before me, and by choosing not to proffer any testimony or evidence contrary to the evidence and information contained in the report of the Special Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr. Rose has accepted baseball's ultimate sanction, lifetime ineligibility."
Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti,
August 24, 1989
Funny how time flies. Twenty years ago, when Giamatti stepped to the microphone and told all that were within earshot that baseball's all-time hit king, Pete Rose, was banned from the game for life after an investigation into allegations of gambling proved to be true.
Since then, it's been two decades of debate whether or not the ban should be lifted and Rose should be considered for induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. Voices on both sides of the debate have been loud, clear and passionate. I, for one, have always believed that Rose should be in the Hall because his betting on games took place when he was a manager, of which he wasn't very good. He should be in, undeniably, as a player where he set the all-time mark with 4,256 hits, a number no player since will come close to approaching no matter how much HGH, steroids or questionable supplements from the local GNC they ingest. Rose was also the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1973 NL MVP, the 1975 World Series MVP and a 17-time all-star. If ever a player had a Hall of Fame resume, it was Pete Rose.
Baseball rule 21(d) > BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.
But then you read Rule 21(d), under Misconduct, and it's now clear to me that Rose should remain on the outside looking in and to line up with the rest of us to get into Cooperstown. And that point was accentuated on my ride down to the stadium for the first game of three against the Rays on Monday when John Dowd, who served as Special Counsel for the Commissioner in the investigation of Rose's illegal activities, told Jack Armstrong on the Fan 590 in Toronto, that Rose also bet on games as a player, something that I hadn't heard of until this time. That sealed it for me.
Without rules, some say, there would be chaos. Pete broke one of the most important rules, pertaining to the integrity of the game. It's the same argument that will be made against each and every player that has been caught taking performance-enhancing drugs while breaking some of the game's sacred records. Protecting the integrity of the game, which ensures a level playing field in the eyes of the ticket-buying public, is paramount. And if you break those rules, you should expect to pay the ultimate price.
Lately, Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Mike Schmidt have come out in support of Rose, hoping that current commissioner Bud Selig would consider reinstating the disgraced hit king and get the ball rolling towards the Hall. But it seems to me that the anti-Rose camp, many of whom are currently in the Hall, far outweighs those who are pro-Pete. In the interview, Dowd told about the late Ted Williams telling him that if and when Rose were to be inducted, several Hall of Famers from his generation would refuse to attend. And really, it should be the greats of the game who should pass judgement on whether or not Rose should receive the game's highest honour. Not the writers, many of whom carry around a laughable "holier than thou" attitude, and certainly not the dithering commissioner who turned a blind eye to the rampant steroid use that currently stains the game.
No, Pete Rose should remain where he currently is, signing autographs and posing for pictures, all with a dollar sign attached to it. After all, wasn't it money that got him in this pickle in the first place?
