pete rose launches web site petition
lawsuit for reinstatement a possibility....
sportcut.com
and a reuter's article on the subject...
Baseball Agrees to Hear Pete Rose's Case
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader who is
currently serving a lifetime ban, will get a chance to plead his case for
reinstatement.
Bob DuPuy, executive vice president of administration for Major League
Baseball, will meet with Rose's attorney, Roger Makley, after the first of the
year, a spokesman for baseball confirmed Tuesday.
By the time the meeting takes place, Rose plans to have even more public
support. Rose is promoting a web site launched Tuesday that includes a
petition asking fans whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
The site, www.sportcut.com, will send the petitions to the Hall of Fame. As
long as Rose remains banned from baseball, he remains ineligible for the Hall
of Fame.
Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation of his alleged
betting on baseball. As part of the agreement with baseball, Rose, then the
manager of the Cincinnati Reds, neither confirmed nor denied that he bet on
baseball.
Bart Giamatti, baseball's commissioner at the time, later said he believed
Rose did place bets on baseball.
Rose applied for reinstatement more than two years ago but has yet to
receive a formal response from Commissioner Bud Selig. But a meeting with
DuPuy could be the first step to a meeting with Selig, who said at the World
Series that he has seen no evidence to lift the ban.
Rose has been highly critical of the investigation led by John Dowd, a formal
federal prosecutor.
''We'll present evidence that counters their evidence,'' Rose said on the web
site featuring the fan petition. ''We have experts too, just like they did.''
Interest in Rose's quest for reinstatement has increased since he was named
to baseball's All-Century Team and engaged in a confrontational interview
with NBC reporter Jim Gray during the World Series.
Rose, 58, played 24 seasons in the major leagues, batting .303 with 4,256
hits. He played in six World Series, four with Cincinnati and two with
Philadelphia. Rose managed the Reds from 1984 until his banishment during
the 1989 season, compiling a 426-388 record. |
