Should Bud Selig Unban Pete Rose ??

[ztwhite]

It appears as if there are major discussions inside the MLB offices regarding the reinstatement of Pete Rose.

This isn't exactly the first time the issue has been brought up, but each time, Commissioner Bud Selig has pretty much blew off the issue.

Given the day and age we live in with steroids and HGH, should Rose be reinstated if for nothing more than to be elected to the Hall of Fame ??

Many people argue that every person who has tested positive for the juice has cheated the game equally as bad, if not more so than Rose did with gambling.

I say he's paid his debt, having to stay away from the game for 20 years, so it's time to let arguably the greatest hitter of all time back in the game.

Discuss and vote !!!!!!

 

[X]

I'm all for lifting the "lifetime ban" on Rose. I'd still rank Ted Williams above him as the greatest pure hitter of all time, but he's probably number two on that list. Considering all of his achievements on the field, he absolutely 100% should be in the baseball Hall of Fame. When did the Hall became a "Hall of the Morally Acceptable"? Christ do you know how many horrible human beings are enshrined in the Hall of Fame? Racists, wife abusers, drug addicts, compulsive gamblers, they fill the HOF. Keeping Rose out for some petty gambling around baseball is ridiculous to me, it's fine to keep him away from ever managing/coaching a team or being involved in that capacity again, but to not put him in the HOF? Bullshit, IMO. Shoeless Joe should be in there as well.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Let him in. I understand if they end up just lifting the ban so he can get in the HoF, but is still banned from managing or coaching, but he should be in. Like X said, the Hall of Fame is a place where the best baseball players of all time can be honored. Not the best people, or the best role models. The best baseball players. Pete Rose is one of the the best baseball players of all time, and therefore should be in the Hall. If they choose that they want to prevent him from coaching anymore, that is ok with me, just give him the honor of being a Hall of Famer.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I say yes. I agree with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, that Rose, the all-time hits and singles king, should be a Hall of Famer. That said, it should ONLY be for the Hall of Fame. His reinstatement should not afford him the chance to ever work in baseball again. No managerial jobs, no scouting jobs, nothing with the team or the sport itself. He wrecked that chance, and baseball's integrity has taken enough hits than to voluntarily allow a guy who gambled on the game and put the game at risk back into it.

The Hall of Fame should celebrate history and greatness in it's forms. If you keep Rose out citing personal integrity, then kick out Ty Cobb. Kick out Mantle, too. And forget shut down the committees, because nobody from the steroid era should get in then.

So absolutely induct him, don't let him make a speech (half the shit he's in is due to him not knowing when to keep his mouth shut), and move on.

 

[Rokitka]

I understand he broke the "cardinal rule" of baseball by gambling on the game, but it was during a managerial position. It should not take away from his accomplishments as a player. How official can a sport's hall of fame be without its all-time leader in the most important aspect of the game? Sadly, Selig's disputed the claims that he's considering lifting the ban and seems to still be going hard on Rose.

 

[Tenta]

I'd absolutely let Pete Rose have his chance in the HOF, if not for the simple fact that what this man did between the lines completely validates this man being a part of the Hall of Fame. Now, I feel that him being inducted is going to open up a whole new can of worms, and that we're going to have to face the concept of the steroid players being allowed in. However, I've always felt that Pete should get a chance to be in the Hall, and that you'll never find as deserving a player as Pete Rose. The fact is that we are inducting Pete Rose the player, and all of his credential in which he has accomplished on the field. As a coach, there's no way that they should acknowledge his career as a manager, unless you're going to add a story to his plaque, stating that this man is also guilty of the cardinal rule of baseball.

However, I'd have to ask Bud Selig this... Is he inducting Pete because he feels that Pete deserves a spot, or because hall of famers are talking about letting him in. What has really changed for Pete Rose, either than a few more people speaking on his behalf? The man still lied to the public regarding his gambling, and did so for a good fifteen years, before finally confessing under the chance of gaining a good profit from the matter. Why did it take a profit and a novel to drive out that Pete did indeed bet on baseball? The man, to me, doesn't show as much contrition for his trangressions, and to me, hasn't done anything in particular to prove his sorrow for what he did. I'm not saying that the guy shouldn't be in, as I feel the hall of fame should be entirely based around the work one does between the lines. However, I still don't care too much for Pete the person, and feel he's getting himself into the Hall of Fame not because of any act of his own, but through the words of hall of famers.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I feel that what he did as a player and a manager should be separate. On the field, he was one of the greatest of all time. As a manager, he broke one of the cardinal sins of baseball and for that, he shouldn't be allowed to manage, get a job, or make a penny from baseball. I'm all for him being in the Hall of Fame. Nothing is really going to change and it's not going to make the Hall of Fame any worse.

If Pete Rose is unbanned and put into the Hall of Fame, don't you think Shoeless Joe Jackson should be put in as well?

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I'll write a full post for this thread a little later, but I noticed something in Little Jerry Lawler's post I want to address.

As a manager, he broke one of the cardinal sins of baseball. If Pete Rose is unbanned and put into the Hall of Fame, don't you think Shoeless Joe Jackson should be put in as well?

There is no way to prove Shoeless Joe's innocence, if indeed he is. You argue that Pete Rose broke the cardinal sin while managing, but not on the field. I agree. But, as far as we know, Joe Jackson threw a world series. He committed the same act, but in a much more significant want, and on the field. If we're using that argument in favor of Rose, it works against Jackson.

 

[Big J]

Pete Rose SAYS he never bet on his own team and other than telling the players to go stupid things(that would be obvious) what can a manager do to insure a win or loss?

As a player,Shoeless Joe, had a much bigger role in insuring that his team lose the world series, if he didn't do anything then he was the only one on the team that didn't.

Pete in, joe out.