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It comes up every year at this time. No matter the season, the Pete Rose debate continues. Every year when the Hall of Fame gathers in Cooperstown, NY for the latest inductees, the back room debate centers around a man who was banned from the game 20 years ago. Rose agreed to be place on the permanent ineligible baseball list as part of a settlement to stop the investigation that he gambled on baseball games. He effectively agreed to be banned for life by then commissioner Bart Giamatti. With the current climate of baseball & the steroids controversy, many fans say it's finally time to lift the ban. I take exception.
You have to remember, gambling damages the very fabric & legitimacy of the game. Before you say, "well steroids does the same thing," let me give you a scenerio. While manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Pete Rose was in a position of power. He also gambled on those games (52 of them in 1987 alone). So it's not far fetched to think he might have lost some games purposely in order to win the wager. To me, that sort of behavior is irreperable. Games could have been influenced or pre determined & as much as an affect as steroids has had on the game, it doesn't pre determine the outcome. A manager can literraly fix a game however he likes. Rose even bet as a player, so who is to say he didn't purposely throw an opportune error or worse. Now Rose says he never bet against the Reds, but are you going to believe a man who lied for nearly 15 years?
Even with the ban lifted, it won't get him placed on the ballot thanks to a 1991 voting by the Hall of Fame Committee recommending a change in the admission rules, to exclude any person banned from baseball. So even if Selig lifts the permanent ban, many members of the HOF committee who are against Rose being allowed in the HOF, would have to vote him in (which is historically a harder vote to get then the Baseball Writers 75%). While Rose's career stats are Hall of Fame quality, his decision to gamble put into question the reputation & credibility of the game itself, as well as his own.
While I am not condoning the use of steroids, there has only been 1 rule that gets you a lifetime ban in baseball & it's been that way since 1920. It's in every locker room & clubhouse wall for all to read. Rule 21 states that, "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." It's as basic as "3 strikes your out." For 15 years Rose denied ever gambling on games before finally coming clean & saying "everything the Dowd Report contained was the complete, unadulterated truth." Case closed ladies & gentlemen, he broke Rule 21, game over, permanently ineligible.
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It should be case closed.
ReplyDeleteIt's the permanently ineligible list, not the ineligible until Bud has a fit of conscience list.
But the agreement that Rose signed didn't admit to breaking rule 21. It just stated that he agreed to the permanent ban with the stipulation that he could reapply for reinstatement after 1 year.
Here's hoping that Bud does the right thing, which in this case is nothing.
I know we are on the same side here, but I don't really understand people who compare the steroid problem to gambling. The steroid users are doing everything they can to gain an edge -- to be stronger, stay healthier, play longer. They are breaking the rules, but they are doing it in an all-out effort to win. And it is debatable how much of an edge they are really giving themselves.
ReplyDeleteI don't think steroids have made as big an impact in the record books as people claim. Steroids don't make you hit homeruns or hit more effectively. And using steroids without spending hours in the gym won't do squat. It is the modern training methods that have changed our record books. You could pump me full of steroids, but it wouldn't make me a major league player. You have to already be good enough.
Gambling is a much more insidious problem. It may start out innocently enough with small bets placed on games you aren't involved in. But you can't exactly walk into a legitimate sports book to place these bets. You are dealing with organized crime. As the bets get larger, the pressure will mount to influence the outcome of the games. That threatens the integrity of the game in a way that steroids never can.
You make great points. I think this is just to get the fans attention off of the steroids. I know Bud denies considering it but I think this is the smokescreen, this and the Mets.LOL
ReplyDeleteBud Selig is already going to go down as the worst baseball commissioner of all time, lifting the ban would just solidify that.
ReplyDeleteGood article.