Opinion: Baseball Right To Keep Pete Rose Out Of Hall Of Fame
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader and one of the greatest baseball players ever, should not be in the Hall of Fame. What he did on the field makes him eminently worthy of inclusion, but his gambling on games as a player and manager cannot be excused.
Rose knew the rules on gambling, and he knew the stakes - a yearlong suspension for betting on a game in which the bettor is not involved and a lifetime ban for betting on a game in which the bettor is involved.
Rose did both, ESPN confirmed Monday with evidence that Rose was betting on games not only as a manager, which he had admitted after years of denial, but also as a player, which Rose denied as recently as late April.
Rose knew the rules, but he broke them anyway. Did he believe he would never get caught? Did he believe he could talk his way out if he did get caught?
Did he believe, in the event of a conviction, that his play would simply overshadow his indiscretions in the eyes of the game's decision makers? Did he believe he could wear baseball down with repeated applications for reinstatement and thus eligibility for the Hall of Fame?
The answer to each of those questions is probably a resounding "yes."
Some fans have forgiven Rose and want him to be in the Hall of Fame. For what he did on the field, Rose belongs there. Enshrinement in Cooperstown is a privilege, however, not a right, as Rose seems to think.
Across the baseball landscape, Rose has almost certainly received forgiveness from some folks, from fans and from people in the game. Just because forgiveness is granted, however, does not mean consequences simply vanish and reputation is restored.
How many athletes have we seen make boneheaded or tragic mistakes that permanently scarred an amazing career or cut short a career before it began? The list is a long one.
It would be wrong to bar from Cooperstown everyone who has made a mistake - or several - but Rose is unique in that he broke the game's cardinal rule, for years was adamant in his denial that he broke that rule, and now is persistent in his pleas that he still deserves the game's highest honor.
Here is what Rose needs to remember as the big picture: No one can take away his fabulous career. The 17-time All-Star selection amassed 4,256 hits over 24 years and finished with a career batting average of .303.
Rose was a Rookie of the Year, a two-time Gold Glove winner, an MVP. He was one of the best baseball players ever.
The sport does not begrudge Rose his place in history, but it also does not want to honor someone who unabashedly and repeatedly broke its number one rule and then refused for years to admit it and then continued to lie about how far he actually went.
The odds for Rose making it to the Hall of Fame looked slim even before Monday, and with the most recent news that confirms his sins were more extensive than had been proven earlier, the odds look even worse.
It is a sad situation of Rose's own creation, but just because it is unfortunate that Rose is not in the Hall of Fame does not mean it would be right to put him there. Monday's news makes that clearer than ever.
