To all,
Really not on subject, but the Rose topic has been broached a number of times. The following article is from Dan Shaughnessy, a feature writer from the Boston Globe. I have never understood why Pete Rose is defended so ardently. He is just a spoiled brat athlete, who refuses to admit to what he did because he believes in the end he will get away with it. I really appreciated Pete Rose the ballplayer; I have no use for Pete Rose, the person.
Filbert
Rose's election is a sure bet to cause a stir
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist, 10/24/99
ATLANTA - Pete Rose returns to baseball tonight - assuming he can make it in time from his card show in Atlantic City.
Major League Baseball proudly presents its All-Century Team before Game 2 of the World Series and it should be great fun watching commissioner Bud Selig hold his nose when he introduces Pete.
''I said if Pete was elected, he's welcome, and he is,'' Selig said while standing on the field before Game 1 last night.
The team will be officially unveiled at a media session in downtown Atlanta at 2 p.m. today, but according to Pastime Productions, Rose is scheduled to be in the Grand Ballroom of Bally's Park Place Hilton Casino Resort from noon to 3. His signature will fetch $40-$75 depending on what he signs. If Rose keeps the commitment, he should be able to make it to Turner Field just in time for tonight's on-field ceremony (7:30 p.m.).
Asked about Rose's card show appearance on this special day, Selig said, ''I was told that. I have no comment.''
Ah. So much to say, so little space.
The latest national poll shows that most Americans think Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Naturally. The cliches are easily applied. It's trendy to paint the baseball establishment as cruel to poor Pete. How can baseball keep him out of Cooperstown? He had more hits than any other player. He paid his debt to society, but baseball won't forgive him. The Hall walls are lined with crooks, drunks, and racists.
Blah, blah, blah.
Rose is not in the Hall of Fame because he knowingly and repeatedly committed baseball's cardinal sin. He bet on major league baseball games while he was managing a major league baseball team.
Since that time, he has done nothing but trash baseball and insult our intelligence by refusing to admit he did it. Meanwhile, he shows up at every roadside memorabilia show, hawking his wares. He is the Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show of sports.
Asked about Rose's prospects for reinstatement, Selig said, ''It's the same. I'm comfortable with [former commissioner Bart Giamatti's] decision. There's no new evidence. We're exactly where we were.''
But tonight Rose gets his golden moment, and no doubt his presence will distract mightily from Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax, and other living greats.
''I don't think that will happen,'' countered Selig. ''I think these players are so great, the ceremony will be as good as it was in Boston [for the All-Star Game] and that was the best ever.''
It goes without saying that Rose should not even be on the All-Century Team, and not because of his gambling. We all know he was a hit machine and a gritty competitor and a winner who worked his butt off and played five positions. But he was also a leadoff hitter who did not have a high on-base percentage. He was without power. And he gets more outfield votes than Roberto Clemente (not on the team). More than Musial?
Sorry to embarrass Pete, but put his numbers next to Musial's. It's embarrassing.
The Rose vote isn't the worst, however. Fortunately the All-Century Team allowed for five add-ons, and wrongs were corrected with the additions of Honus Wagner, Musial, Spahn, Christy Mathewson, and Lefty Grove. Perhaps modern fans cannot be expected to know that Spahn, Mathewson, and Grove were a little better than Nolan Ryan (who finished first in the voting), Roger Clemens (fourth), and Greg Maddux (seventh).
Rose finished ninth, making him the final outfielder to make the team on the basis of fan voting. And his spot on the team is certain to start a new series of stories about why he should be in Cooperstown.
The best way to get Rose in the Hall is to have the rules changed for admission. Make it only about what you do on the field - like football and basketball. Baseball is imprisoned by a clause in which voters are asked to consider the character, integrity, and contribution to the game. Clearly it is hideous to have baseball writers passing judgment on the character of ballplayers.
But as long as the rules are left the way they are, Rose is out. Gambling is a crime against baseball. It almost killed the game in 1919 and that's why the rules are so strong. Every day of their careers, players walk by a clubhouse-wall notice outlining the rules against wagering on baseball.
It's like this, folks: when the ground ball goes between Bill Buckner's legs, we must have faith that he is trying. There can be no hint that the game is in the bag. Baseball can never become WWF.
And please, no nitwit remarks about how Rose bet only on his own team. It doesn't matter. If he bet on the Reds Monday and Wednesday, then he was effectively betting against his team on Tuesday. That's the day he's not trying to win quite as much. How would you like your son to have been an overused relief pitcher on the 1988 Reds, pitching at the expense of his own career in order to help settle Pete's huge gambling debt?
Rose is still settling the score. That's why he's scheduled to be in a casino today - while Mssrs. Williams, Aaron, Spahn, Musial, and Koufax are being honored by the game they served so well.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist.
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