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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Should this man be in the Hall of Fame?


For anyone who doesn't know, this is Pete Rose pretending to be a fullback on catcher Ray Fosse. In the freaking ALL STAR GAME. Most guys treat the All-Star game like a paid vacation, and are more than happy just to be there. The game? An afterthought.


Not to Charlie Hustle. Pete was a guy who ran to first after drawing a walk. A guy who dove headfirst into every base he went. A guy who, if his uniform was not absolutely filthy after a game, probably went and rolled around the infield for 10 minutes before he headed to the locker room. In basketball, they call guy's like Pete a gym rat: I guess Pete was a ballpark rat. He is also a guy, who by his own admission, bet on baseball.

In the eyes of the muckity mucks who run MLB, Rose committed the ultimate sin: he gambled on the game.While I believe Rose when he says he never placed a bet for the Reds to lose while he played/managed for them, I DO think he bet on his team to win. See, a guy like Rose would NEVER want to lose: not for any amount of money in the world. He was too much of a gamer to do that.


Dan Patrick and Keith Olberman were talking about Pete today on the radio: seems like Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati is holding some type of Pete Rose exhibition this week. Now, this seems to violate the deal Rose struck when he agreed that he would not appear at any MLB park in an official capacity. I'm not a lawyer, but I think Rose would have to have Uncle Bud's seal of approval for this to happen. Question is, is this leading to Pete Rose being re-instated by MLB in some capacity, possibly leading to his induction into the Hall of Fame down the road? I don't know, but consider the following.


Rose is the all time hits leader with 4,256, had 3 batting titles, 3 World Series rings, and was the World Series MVP in 1975. (This just proves God has a sense of humor: it shoulda been Pudge for his Home Run, but the Good Lord decided RSN needed to wait another 19 years. I think it has something to do with Boston's sketchy racial history, but that's just a guess).



In addition, Rose won 2 Gold Gloves, had 10 seasons of 200+ hits, played 500 or more games at 5 DIFFERENT POSITIONS, and was a 17 time all star. Not to mention the 44 game hitting streak, second only to Joltin' Joe DiMaggio.
Does that sound like the career statistics of a guy NOT in the Hall of Fame? No, it doesn't. It's ridiculous Pete Rose does not have a plaque in Cooperstown. There are racists, wife beaters, and drug addicts in the Hall as I type this. For the next 20 years, there will be men inducted into the Hall who cheated to reach the level they attained, yet MLB continues to keep a man who loves the game, who played his heart out, and who deserves the honor, out of it's hallowed halls.



Pete Rose should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. And his plaque should read, after listing all his accomplishments, "Was banned from the game for life after being convicted of betting on baseball." Bottom line.



More Red Sox blather, or stories about my younguns tomorrow. I just felt the need to vent.

12 comments:

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

Well it took you a while but we finally see eye to eye. Start talking about the BIG RED MACHINE and I'm with you! Bill Clinton can smoke dope but not inhale and we make him President. Hall Of Fame is about baseball career. We make them role models thats our problem. Like you said if we put lie detectors on all of them the hall would be a lonely place. Petes problem was he wouldn't play their game. Right On little buddy you keep on rockin the cat box!

Ted D said...

Scotty, I knew this would get your goat. Especially when it involved a member of a dynasty: I figure you have a couple of Reds caps stuck back in your closet from back in the day!

This is a travesty to me: the man LOVED baseball, and would never have defaced it by betting against his own team. And Selig knows this. I think if Rose can keep his nose clean, he will be back in baseball, in some capacity, by the end of next year. I'm not saying he is the salt of the earth: just it's the Baseball Hall of Fame, not the Good guy Hall of Fame.

As a kid, I LOVED Rose: he was, and will always be, the poster child for how to play the game. I don't think I'll have a hard time talking Rakes into diving into first.

Tex said...

Ive been saying this all along. If Pete Rose would have been a Red Sox...he woulda had the nickname Dirt Dog.

I loathe the day when "that player" from california makes it into HOF.

Scotty's on the money...HOF is about Baseball career, nothing else as far as I'm concerned.

If Pete ever gets to be on the ballot...they should think this before voting....he who has no sin cast the first stone.

Ted D said...

Tex, was wondering where you were.

If Bond's makes the Hall before Rose, there should be some kind of investigation.

You ask anyone in baseball, there is no doubt Rose LOVES the game. And while I think the gambling is a serious issue, how can you not include this man in the Hall of Fame? Just let it be known on the plaque, or in his exhibit, or something. How can you exclude the all time hit king from the HOF?

MLB has some serious issues it needs to address.

Tex, you never said: I hope your day with your son on his birthday was everything you hoped.

Tex said...

Ted, Sunday was good...just was still sick and was weak from the drive. I have to work and am exhausted at the end of the day. Ive just been resting.
Nite and see ya tomorrow

Ted D said...

Feel better Tex. And I'm glad you had a good day with your boy on his birthday. And thanks for being so loyal about commentng here.

Just ignore Scotty: he's approaching senility, so don't worry about him.

( Bub, you buy a Sox cap, and all this goes away!)

KAYLEE said...

Ted,

You are out of my generation now.Now if you will excuse me I have to respond to scott's last comment to me on you last post.

//Kaylee, just one more piece of advice. Have your cousin wear a different color shirt than the pole. Hopefully you wont miss in the future!! You have motivated me to find your blog. I promise to only talk fondly of the beloved sox.//
Scott,come to my blog anytime just dont pick on me to much...you can click on my name and find my blog in my profile or ted has the link in his linklist under the world according to kaylee.As for the advice thanks!I am just not sure I want to tell a guy how to dress:)Okay I am done with my rant.

HorshamScouse said...

Well said Ted. As a person, as far as I can see, Rose comes across as a tosser. As a ballplayer he as everything you said he was.

The second guy inducted into the HOF: the psychopath Cobb, for crying out loud.

As for Bonds, similar thinking applies: it's about career and his has been as good as any I'll ever see. IMHO:)

VTek said...

Brad Garrett also made a reference to Pete and was joking about him on Conan O'Brien last night -lol.

Ted D said...

John, when I said Rose should get in before Bonds, I didn't mean Bonds should not get in. Even before he started looking like a pro wrestler, he had a HOF career.

Carol, even weirder, I just read that Rose admitted on the Dan Patrick radio show TODAY that he bet on all the Reds games when he was manager, just only to win.

Stacy said...

You gave me quite the education on Pete Rose, little brother, and I agree with you. Vote him in and put the disclaimer about the betting at the bottom of the plaque. If he played as hard as you and Bub say, he should be in.

Hope you're feeling better. I need you back at work so there'll be peace in the valley.

Ted D said...

Stacy, I feel like run over road kill. Somewhere between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am a mack truck ran over me.

Feel a little more alive now.