Pete Rose resurfaced in the baseball world a couple days ago when it was announced that his banishment pact with the MLB would be sent to auction. The five-page contract simply says that it was discovered that Rose had done something wrong, an investigation occurred, a report was put together, Rose then got to defend himself, and then punishment was handed down to him. Rose's wrongdoing was betting on games while managing, including betting against his own team allegedly. Rose admits to betting while managing, but not against his own team. The question is not did or did he not bet against his own team, though. The question is why hasn't he been reinstated so that he can take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame?
Regardless of what he did as a manager, Pete Rose is a Hall of Fame player. He is the better of two players that have gotten over 4,000 hits (4,256). He is a former NL MVP (1973) and World Series MVP (1975). He was the Rookie of the Year in 1963, and won a Silver Slugger Award nearly 20 years later in 1981. He won the National League batting title...three times. In 24 years, he made it to 17 All-Star teams. He even won two Gold Glove Awards. He is a member of the MLB All-Century Team. He is a no-doubt Hall of Famer that made a mistake as a manager. His playing years should not be punished for what he did afterwards.
He says he never bet against his team and I believe him. He has already tried to be reinstated twice, and so lying in his autobiography doesn't serve him any good and will only tarnish his reputation even more. I'd like to see the 225-page report that was produced after Rose's investigation in 1989. I'd like to see if it included proof of him betting against his own team. That's the only reason why he's banished. If he bet on other teams why managing, it's not nearly as bad as betting against his own team. Betting against his own team would be that he would have the chance to throw games to make money. Betting on other teams just means he likes to gamble. There's no loss of baseball integrity if you are just betting on other teams. The loss of integrity only comes when you bet against your own team. So if he didn't bet on his own team, there's no need to banish him for nearly 25 years. I wish baseball would release some type of proof, if it exists, and let the baseball writers decide if it's enough to keep him banished. They are the same guys that will vote him into the Hall, after all.
Unfortunately, Pete Rose the amazing player gets shadowed by Pete Rose the gambling manager. It isn't fair that his life after his playing years gets to decide if he makes the Hall or not. It isn't fair that they didn't reinstate just so he could be voted into the Hall of Fame. They could have banished him right afterwards because he'd go in first ballot. Rose doesn't want to be a part of baseball. He just wants to be where he deserves to be, and that's enshrined in Cooperstown. It's one of baseball's biggest crimes. How can the best hitter baseball has ever seen not be a Hall of Famer? He's a Hall of Famer in ever baseball fan's heart, why not make it legit. Start the campaign: Peter Rose to the Hall of Fame.
Reference
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8378511/pete-rose-banishment-pact-hit-auction-block
http://assets.espn.go.com/pdf/2012/0914/pete_rose.pdf
http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/H_career.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Rose
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