In the matter of Pete Rose....?

Question

Many times athletes bet on themselves to win, as in horse racing. Jockey's bet to win on themselves...I don't think there is anything wrong by betting on yourself to win as long as you play to win throughout the game and not intentionally lay back or not give it your all throughout the nine innings.

Other athletes have had problems with alcohol and gambling, but they handled it differently. One or three scenarios are presented here, which one do you subscribe to, if either...

1. Pete Rose deliberately threw games and allowed his team to win by only a margin to satisfy the win but not the coverage or points-runs offered by the odds makers. and/or allowed the other team to win, outright..... Which is wrong and illegal and suggests Rose was beholding to the odds makers and not to the game of baseball for whatever reason.

2. By the Commissioner of baseball taking the action he did, did the commissioner make a statement as to the legitimacy of the career of Pete Rose and condemn Rose to the accusations being 'fact' in the court of public opinion.

3. If Pete Rose handled the matter differently, perhaps by admitting he was a gambler, would the matter of Pete Rose have a different scenario. Was Pete Rose innocent and did Rose simply handle the whole thing wrong?

Which one of the above scenarios is accurate, if either....What is your take on the matter of Pete Rose being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame..?

Answer 1

It seems this questions comes up a hundred times a week. Same question/same answer. He cheated!! He broke the Cardinal sin of baseball. No gambling!! He compromised the integrity of the game. He belongs with the other cheaters of the game like Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Grimesly, etc. It's called a life time band of the game. No hall of fame, no nothing!!! He isn't even allowed in a major league ballpark without permission. What does that tell you?

He was a good, not great player who got the very most out of his abilities. You can rework any scenario you want. It happened the way it happened, end of story!!

Answer 2

I think this question and those about Barry Bonds comprise 1/3 of the baseball questions asked here... No, Pete Rose should not be allowed in the Hall of Fame. As far as there being other people in the HOF who weren't saints, that's absolutely true. But this isn't about drinking or partying or tax evasion or some other personal failing. It's specifically about betting on baseball while working in baseball. He knew the rules. He took the chance. He lost. It's sad, perhaps even pitiful, that he did things that are preventing his induction to the HOF. But he did them. Other people argue that he gambled as a manager and not as a player. If that is true (and who really knows) you can't seperate what he did as a player from what he did as a manager. He was an employee of Major League Baseball during both phases of his career, just in different jobs. And he broke the sport's #1 cardinal rule: No Betting on Baseball. The rule isn't "No Betting on Baseball Unless You Bet for Your Team". It's "No Betting on Baseball". Period. Every baseball employee from the lowest minor leagues to the major leagues knows the rule. Pete Rose made a conscious choice to disregard it. Then he lied about it publicly for 14 years, not that that should influence anything. It's simply another example of his extremely poor judgement. Look, Pete Rose was a great player. No one can deny that. But you don't give the world's best surgeon his profession's highest honor after he loses his license because of severe malpractice. And you don't honor a ballplayer with election to the Hall of Fame after he broke the mother of all rules. No one who ever saw him play will ever forget what he could do on a ballfield. The memory of Pete Rose as a player will live in the hearts of baseball fans for a very long time. The difference between him and the other greats is just that Pete Rose will not have a plaque in his honor sitting on a wall in a museum in Cooperstown.

Answer 3

The Hall of Fame is strictly based on the game of baseball. By not letting the all time hits leader get in, and a guy who was a monster on what some say was the greatest team EVER in baseball, the big red machine, is making it The Hall of Character. The Hall of Fame should have absolutely nothing to do with his character. I could care less what he did. There are known racists (Ty Cobb for one) who are in the hall. This is just about power and the commissioner Bud Selig has a power trip just like most commissioners. Pete Rose needs to be let into the hall, you cant deny how good he was as a player, Hall of Fame caliber. Let him in!!!!

Answer 4

I used to believe that Pete Rose deserved to be banned for life. He gambled on baseball, which hurt the integrity of the game. However, I've come to feel that there's one thing that made me change my mind. To be clear, I really believe that he didn't do anything that affected the game of baseball itself. I believe that he didn't throw games, and that he didn't use insider information (like who the team was about to aquire); that he got banned (rightfully) because he broke the rules. Fine. Except, like I said, for one thing: The way things stand now, Barry Bonds--who is quite possibly guilty of steroid abuse, and certainly, if only through the allegations against him, has damaged the integrity of baseball far more than Pete Rose ever did--will wind up in the Hall of Fame before Pete Rose. And that's just not fair. So unless we can go back in time, and rewrite the rules to say that anyone who hurts baseball can't get in, I think they should let Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame. Because, when it came down to it. He just screwed up. He didn't screw up the whole game.

Answer 5

Simply put, every MLB clubhouse has Rules of Conduct prominently displayed. At the top of the list is "No betting on baseball." It doesn't say "No betting against your team," it says "No betting on baseball." There is no gray area there. You bet, you get caught, you're gone.

Rose has admitted he bet on baseball. It took him about 14 years to admit it, but he did admit it. I once questioned whether the allegations were true, but hearing it from the horse's mouth has removed any lingering doubt in my mind.

As a result of his behavior he is also on baseball's Ineligible List. You do not give someone the highest honor in their profession if they are banned from making a living in that profession because they broke clearly stated, widely understood rules. That makes no sense. Do you honor a doctor with a lifetime achievement award if he lost his license for malpractice? Of course not. Rose's situation is no different.

Look, Pete Rose WAS a great player, easily a Hall of Fame caliber player. There can be no denying that. But unless the powers that be remove Rose from the Ineligible List and reinstate him into the game, he should not be put in the Hall of Fame. If they do reinstate him, he should go as soon as possible afterwards, but not before.

Answer 6

The prohibition against betting on baseball, or being associated with those betting on baseball (which has snared a few players over the years), is posted in EVERY CLUBHOUSE.

Pete Rose knew the rules, he just figured he'd get special treatment because of who he is. He thought himself bigger than the game. He isn't.

And Pete Rose DID bet against his team - by virtue of NOT placing bets on some of them. Tell me - did he manage games differently when he money on it as opposed to those where he didn't? THAT becomes an issue.

He knew the rules, he broke them, he lied, he attempted to damage the credibility of those who CAUGHT him. No way. Sorry Petey.

Answer 7

The biggest sin in baseball is gambling.
Gambling almost ruined baseball way back in 1919 (look up the Black-Sox scandal) and since then baseball has worked hard to keep gambling out of the game.

Rose bet on baseball, and admitted betting on baseball.
He accepted a lifetime ban to avoid further humiliation.

Had he admitted it at first, and come clean, a lot of this could have been avoided. But he lied over and over about his involvement, hoping that people's memory would fade. When he finally admitted what the evidence already showed (that he bet on baseball) it was too late for forgiveness.

Answer 8

Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. What he did on the ball field should be the only thing taken into consideration for that award. There are plenty of others who who have disgraced the game and are still playing.

Answer 9

Pete Rose knowingly broke the most scared rule of baseball. He cheated and should never be allowed back in the game in any way. The Hall Of Fame belongs to those who honored the game not those who cheated on the game. The same applies to Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and the rest who dishonored the game and themselves.

Answer 10

Pete Rose is banned from baseball FOR LIFE!

That is the way it should be.

And he should not ever be allowed in the Hall Of Fame, not even as a paying customer!!!