Pete Rose to be reinstated?

[sbp]

NEW YORK -- Pete Rose may finally be getting his second chance.

Baseball's career hits leader could know by the end of the year if baseball will agree to end his lifetime ban -- which could make him eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Nothing has been agreed to at this point -- including whether or not Rose will be reinstated or regain eligibility for Hall of Fame induction -- and while any potential agreement could still fall apart, it's conceivable a deal could be reached by sometime next month.

"It's a first hopeful sign,'' said Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, who wrote twice to Selig last month urging reinstatement. Luken said he spoke to Bob DuPuy, Selig's top aide, on Nov. 27 and DuPuy said he would get back to him in about 30 days.

Negotiations are still ongoing on the terms of exactly what Rose will be asked by Selig to admit to before he is reinstated. In order to satisfy constituents who are opposed to Rose's reinstatement, Selig is said to be firm in his conviction that Rose has to admit, in some form, that he bet on baseball.

The meeting between Rose and Selig was the result of a process that had begun more than a year earlier, in the fall of 2001, when friends of Rose -- including several former Hall of Fame teammates -- first intervened on his behalf with Selig.

It came 13 years after Rose, then the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to a lifetime ban from the game following an investigation into his gambling. Rose's playing career ended on Aug. 17, 1986.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1209/1474384.html

[Merlin]

This was a big story on ESPN yesterday as well.

To be completely honest, I really don't know what should be done about Pete. He clearly had a career that belongs in the Hall but he also did some things he should not have done. Since I really don't know the extent of his gambling I don't know if it can be forgiven. Afterall, I don't know if he was in a position to throw a game.

[Cubsfan]

A friend of mine made a good point. I don't think anybody really has a big problem that they kicked him out of baseball, but what they basically did was try to erase his existence from baseball. He had a great career, and I say honor it!

[cheapie]

he should be reinstated if it admits to gambling on baseball. if he really wants to get back in the game he loves, he needs to come clean.

[Merlin]

That is if he did it. I hear the evidence against him is pretty clear but I don't know that he is guilty. We are all assuming that he is guilty (most likely he is) but we don't really know. :shrug:

[chadlnc]

I for one am against the whole "admit it and we'll forgive you idea". I know nothing about Pete Roses' history of gambling and whether he did it or not, but that is a real tough situation to put anyone in. It reminds me a lot of the Salem witch trials where they tried to force people to admit they were witches so they could repent. What if you weren't a witch? If you wanted to stay alive you still had to say you were and live the rest of your life in shame. Now I know this isn't the exact same thing, but it does have some parallels.

[TofuNinja]

Just let him into the hall of fame. I mean look at Pete for cryign out loud, he has to whore his name just to make money and he even got beaten up twice in the WWE....he had a great baseball career and should be honored...

[cheapie]

i'll amend my comment to say, if he is in fact guilty, and they have evidence of the wrongdoing...he should be reinstated if it admits to gambling on baseball. if he really wants to get back in the game he loves, he needs to come clean.

[raimin]

Does Pete Rose really even want to get into the hall of fame? Everyone knows he is worthy. But, he seems to like to stick his face out to the media too much. If he is put into the hall of fame by admiting he was wrong, people gonna forget about him really quick like all the other recent hall of famers. But since there is this controversy, every one still talks about him, and he stick out amouong the baseball retirees. I think he like the limelight too much. He will never admit to gambling, and let the controversy continue. Imagine 30 years from now, people still gonna talk about this.

[Merlin]

If he bet on baseball games he had no part in I feel his 10+ year suspension should be enough.

If he bet on games that he had a part in but bet on himself I think he should have a severe penalty. Ten years? Sure. Maybe more.

If he bet against his own team at any point the the lifetime ban should stay.

Each level of betting effects the integrity of the game in a different way and our level of tolerance should reflect that.

[TofuNinja]

fake yes, but he was the butt of two wrestlemania jokes LOL

[eSDee]

Well I think he should be let in, and I'm not sure if he should have to apologize about betting on the games either. I think my biggest problem is with Selig, who in my opinion has way to much power over this guys future. I say that there should be a vote among a bunch of current half of famers to see what they think. After all he'll be joining them. Selig just seems to have a personal vendetta against Pete Rose. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but I think that Selig is an a hole :shrug:

[Merlin]

Let's keep one thing in mind. Rule 21(d) is very clear on this matter in terms of both crime and punishment.


BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.

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.


And that rule has been posted in every clubhouse for like the last 50 years.

[dbax791]

I may be a hard @ss on this but I still think he should be banned. He made a choice to bet on baseball, and he should live with the consequences.

I hate the "apologize and we'll forvive you" argument. That would send a message that its OK to do the wrong thing so long as you apologize for it later.

He made his bed, he should lie in it.

[ufcrusher]

Personally, I never thought he should have been expelled for life from baseball. He was one of the best players...a true sportsman, and he deserves the recognition. Plus, as an added bonus, a lot of my stuff will go way up in value then. :D

I have met him numerous times in my life. Back during his Phillies days, he and Schmidt were the only two who were unwilling to sign any autographs for all the fans, on fan appreciation day. He would talk with you for a minute or two, and then just go on his merry way. (scowling all the way) I ended up getting his signature on a ball that was signed by the entire world series team (I cant remember if its 1980 or 1983).

I also ran into him when he was out and about in philly too.

Now onto the more recent past. After he was kicked out of baseball, he ended up opening up Pete Rose's Ballpark Cafe in Boca Raton, Fl. He would actually do his show from a booth at his restaurant and he would sign autographs before and after his show. The catch...you had to buy something in the store. So as a result I have an autographed hat too.

For lack of a better term, the guy is a jerk. Probably one of the least sociable celebrities that I have dealt with, and I have had dealings with a number of them by now. Even so, he deserves his fame, so i say its been long enough.

[TERRIBLETOM]

I'm not sure what the rules and regulations of baseball are, but even a criminal gets a public trial then either proven innocent or guilty, even if there guilty in most cases they don't spend a life term in prison, although some should. I believe if he sufficiently served his time and paid his fines he should be allowed some latitude.

[Ladogaboy]

I remember hearing Pete Rose make a comment to a news reporter quite a while ago, and I thought that it was a very valid point. Baseball has never viewed gambling as addicting, and as such, anyone connected with gambling has been punished without further consideration. MLB does, however, recognize the legitimacy of other addictions, so, for instance, if a player is caught using controlled substances, they are simply sent to rehab. Those players, after a successful rehab are allowed to return to the sport without futher ado. When was the last time they offered to send a player with a gambling problem to rehab?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

[Merlin]

Originally posted by Ladogaboy
...What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

Wrong! Snorting blow is a bad thing but does very little to destroy the integrity of the game. It may make you lose respect for the players but you know the game is fine. Gambling calls into question whether the outcome of the game was predetermined. i.e. did he throw the game for gambling reasons. So baseball does need to treat these two things very differently.

[sbp]

The game itself is not fine. The players $elfish attitudes, Selig, the juicing up on steroids which has cheapen records and more have turned off many.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by Merlin


Wrong! Snorting blow is a bad thing but does very little to destroy the integrity of the game. It may make you lose respect for the players but you know the game is fine. Gambling calls into question whether the outcome of the game was predetermined. i.e. did he throw the game for gambling reasons. So baseball does need to treat these two things very differently.

That may be true, but as far as Pete's situation is concerned, they were never able to connect him to any of the games he bet on. It was just assumed that since he had been gambling while he was a player and coach, he must have been betting on baseball. If you go to Vegas, there is more than just baseball to bet on.

Besides, the point still stands. If a player/coach/retired member has one kind of problem that MLB is willing to help them with, should they be willing to help every player/coach/retired member with similar problems?