Here We Go Again

Pete Rose is fighting to get in the Hall of Fame. Again. Will he be finally be eligible?

This just seems so random to me for some reason. We have the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and I thought Rickey Henderson saying that Rickey was humbled would be the most shocking thing to come out of Cooperstown, and then all of a sudden, here comes Hank Aaron saying that Pete Rose, of all people should be enshrined here. And even more shocking to me is that Bud Selig is actually considering it. For years now, whoever the commissioner has been, whether it be Fay Vincent or Bud Selig, the party line is that they both supported the ban on Pete Rose because "A Bartlett Giamatti, who was the commissioner that banned Rose, and some say that his death was in large part because of the Rose ban stressing him so much, supported it." It was almost as if the commissioner's were supporting the ban on Rose almost as memorial or a tribute to Giamatti.

I think that there's a little more to this than meets the eye. And this just shows you how smart Aaron is, or at least someone that's in the Hall of Fame is smart in convincing Aaron to use his clout because I think Hank is using the current era to try to get Rose in. Why do I think that? Read this article where Aaron says that PED users should be allowed in the Hall, but with asterisks. As you probably know by now, players that used, or at least suspected of using PED's- perfromance enhancing drugs for those of you who aren't body builders- have sort of been unoffically banned by the Hall of Fame writers. Well, specifically, it's Mark McGwire for now, but later, people like Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and etc. will become eligible eventually in the very near future. BUT they're still eligible. They've done nothing to be banned by baseball, and many of these players were not breaking any rules that were in place at the time. What Aaron is in a roundabout way saying, if the steroid guys are eligible, then Rose should be eligible.

Here is where Rose is different. If you go on a stadium tour, and they take you into the clubhouse, look on the wall. You will see a large poster sized sign that specifically says that if you bet on baseball, you are subject to permanent banishment. It's in English AND Spanish, I wouldn't be surprised if it's in Japanese now, to. This has been in place since 1920 after the infamous Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series. This sign is in EVERY Major League and Minor League clubhouse, from the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse to the Lansing Lugnuts clubhouse.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I love Pete Rose, the player. I actually did a report on Pete in Cub Scouts. He has more hits than anyone in Major League history. He has won World Championships. He belongs in the Hall of Fame as a player. I still hate Jim Gray for his classless interview in 1999 at the All-Century Team presentation when he tried to force Rose to admit to gambling for some unknown reason. Like he would all of a sudden admit it THEN. I also think that the players that used steroids should be in the Hall of Fame. Judge them with their peers who were also using steroids. Judge people like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson with their contemporaries I have often plead. I still feel that way.

But here's the thing. When Rose was betting on baseball, he was a manager. And yes, I know that he always bet on the Reds to win. A manager potentially has a LOT of control over a game. You can put a lineup out on the field that is in your favor of winning a bet by tanking a game. It's really easy to put up a pinch hitter who historically has had trouble against a certain pitcher, and it helps you win a bet. You can put in a relief pitcher in a situation that helps you win a bet in the same manner. You can tell your base runners to not run in certain situations. Now, I know Rose did none of this, however, you let him slide and you MIGHT have a manager that will do this in the future. It's a quality issue.

Now, as far as steroids, we suspect that they may have helped a player like a McGwire hit 70 home runs. BUT we don't have anything that we can objectively say, OK, you take these pills, and you hit x-amount more home runs. You can't get some lab rats or monkeys and inject them with steroids and have them play baseball and check their stats out before and after. And how do people explain guys like Tim Laker, Gregg Zaun- who had better power numbers AFTER the report was leaked, and Jose Guillen who also had better power numbers AFTER the report was leaked as well. No one ever talks about them. But they used steroids, and they sure as heck never came close to astronomical home run totals. It's unknown, and it always will be.

If you're keeping score at home, my stance is PED guys- let them in, Rose- keep him out.

Now, if Selig does decide to let Rose in- and it wouldn't really shock me, I think he was close a few years ago before Rose inexplicably started running his mouth, so I think there is some sentiment there. And honestly, if you put asterisks by any player that was suspected of using PED's on their plaque, I don't really have a problem with that either, although I doubt that will happen. See Roger Maris and the 162 game vs 159 game fiasco. BUT what I do have a problem Aaron's opinion is this- if you put asterisk's by the player's that used steroids, you better darn well put one on Pete Rose's plaque. I respect Aaron and his opinion, but there is definately a double standard there. But this is why I don't think the asterisk thing will ever fly- you're putting asterisks on players plaques that didn't break the rules that were in place at the time. You might as well go ahead and put one on Gaylord Perry's, Whitey Ford's, and Don Sutton's plaque as well. Heck, put one on Burleigh Grimes, a spitball pitcher, who throw the pitch legally and was grandfathered by baseball and was allowed to throw the pitch after it was outlawed. Where you do you stop the asterisks? You could put one on Hank Aaron's saying *He broke Babe Ruth's record for home runs, but he played more years as a hitter than the Babe, and in 162 game seasons, and therefore had more opportunities to break the record*. How do you like them apples, Hank? Ty Cobb's plaque could be entertaining- *Racist**Dirty Player**Attacked a man in the stands with no hands**Sold soul to the devil**See reverse side of plaque*.

AND something else, since this is Southern Fried Baseball after all, what about Shoeless Joe Jackson of South Carolina? If you're going to let Rose in, why not Shoeless Joe? He did the exact same thing- maybe worse since he was in a conspiracy to tank the World Series, I'll give Rose that. Although, I know Shoeless Joe kind of played dumb to an extent, since he was illiterate, I have to believe he knew what he was getting into, and he wanted the money. But since we're letting Rose in, why not Shoeless Joe?

Here's what I think will happen- as long as Rose keeps his fool mouth shut- I really think that Selig, with Aaron's blessing and endorsement- remember Aaron once played for the Milwaukee Brewers who were owned by- yep. Bud Selig. And Selig values Aaron's opinion- will finally open up the door to Pete Rose. But we'll see. I think if Selig was against it, he would just come out and say- No, Rose is still banned. End of story. But he's not doing that. In the end, I find it ironic that Charlie Hustle is having to be hustled by a former Atlanta Brave to get into the Hall of Fame.