People make a big deal about 3,000 hits, well imagine getting 4,256 and not being in the Hall of Fame? Wow!?

Question

I find it baffling and mind boggling that Peter Edward Rose Sr. born 04-14-41 - 66 years old, is not in the Hall of Fame yet. How many current Hall of Famers want him in? I know Mike Schmidt does, as i'm sure Ripken and Gwynn do as well. It's the old farts like Bob Feller who don't want him in. Say what you want about his gambling AFTER his career, but the numbers Pete Rose put up were astounding. 10 seasons of 200 hits or more, yes, Ichiro will beat that, but that is incredible in itself. And to me, there is only ONE RECORD in baseball, and that is the all time HITS record, which Rose has, not the all-time HR record, and mark my words, NO ONE will touch this record for probably another 50 years, this and Joe Dimaggio's 56 games hitting streak. Those are 2 records that won't be touched for generations. Let Pete in already, and don't say, WELL HE COMMITED THE MOST CARDINAL SIN OF BASEBALL, he gambled...True, but the gambling that was brought into question was when his playing

days were over from 1987-1989. Rose's playing career lasted 24 years from 1963-1986. You can't take away what he did on the field, and he did this without the use of peformance enhancement drugs like steroids. He was Charlie Hustle. Bud Selig hasn't come forth with any kind of decision regarding the Rose case since Rose admitted publicly to gambling in 2004. Come on Bud, what the hell are you waiting for man? If they let in the roiders like Bonds, they have to let in Rose. And don't respond with the, "No Gambling signs in the clubhouse argument". Remember, his lifetime suspension was for gambling he did AFTER his playing career was over. People make a big deal about Biggio getting to 3,000 hits. To put it into perspective, if Biggio wanted to hang around long enough to pass Rose, he'd have to play another 8 or 9 seasons and retire at 50. Put Rose into the Hall of Fame in 2008, along with Gossage and Blyleven and Jim Rice.

Pete's stats are here:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rosepe01.shtml

Hey, if they want to put something on Rose's Hall of Fame plaque indicating that he bet on baseball when he was a manager, that's fine and that he was suspended for almost 20 years, that's fine. But when Barry Bonds get's elected, they should do the same, and state on his plaque that he was involved in steroids, the balco scandal, leaked grand jury testimony, the clear, the cream, etc. There are people in the Hall of Fame who weren't saints. Babe Ruth banged 10 whores a night, drank tons of beer, was a gluton, etc. Same with Mickey Mantle. No one is perfect.

Georgie Porgie, you should be banned for life on here for posting such an idiotic comment. 4256 hits my friend. END OF STORY

What about REDEMPTION, what about SECOND CHANCES??? It's not like he killed or raped anyone

Answer 1

No matter what he has done, Pete Rose was simply a great baseball player. "Charlie Hustle" was the heart and Soul of "The Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds in the 70's and helped the Phillies in the early 80's. He should be inducted for his career stats and let's not forget the 44 games hit streak in the 80's. Wake up, Bud Selig!!!!

Answer 2

First, I don't think you want to defend Rose by saying he didn't use performance enhancing drugs. He was one of the most notorious amphetamine users of his time. And they are genuinely performance enhancing, not just performance enabling. They may not be as effective as steroids, but they do enhance performance at great long term risk to the user's health.

And Rose's gambling, according to the Dowd report, extends back to the 1985 and 1986 seasons, when he was player-manager. In my opinion, it's worse for a manager to bet on his own team than a player, because a manager needs to consider how his decisions affect the next day's game where he might not be betting. Nonetheless, he was betting on baseball during the season where he broke the all time hits record.

Anyways, Rose knew the rules and chose to broke them. He knew what the punishment was. Between playing himself so much to chase the record and betting on his own team, he may have cost his team the division title in 1985 when they lost by only 5 1/2 games.

He's never shown any remorse for what he's done - just a decade and a half of lying and opportunism. I think if he came clean, acted like he was really sorry, and stopped trying to blame everyone else for what he did, he could probably get a partial reinstatement where he could be elected to the Hall of Fame, but he seems more interested in wallowing in very public self-pity, and making money signing autographs in Cooperstown on induction day.

EDIT

I believe in second chances and redemption, but these require genuine remorse, which I don't think Rose has shown.

Answer 3

The hall of fame is no worse without him in there.
The question for you is did Pete Rose know gambling on baseball was illegal?
If the answer is yes, then give it up, he knew the risks, rewards and consequences. Why are you wanting him in when his actions scream THROW ME OUT.
And Pete Rose was not a 'great' hitter, I would have taken Tony Gwynn any day of the week and his record is one, more of longevity, than excellence. His career batting average is .303. He has 4256 hits because he had the most at bats too.

He hit single and doubles.

He doesn't want in the hall of fame, believe me. He as much said so the first time he said "I will put a $1000 on the Reds to win"

I would be eternally disappointed in the HOF if they let him in.

Answer 4

Sorry, dude, but Pete Rose DID commit the cardinal sin of baseball. He gambled on baseball while he was a player/manager, including games his teams actually participated in. That's why he'll never get into the Hall. It's the same reason "Shoeless" Joe Jackson will never be allowed into the Hall, and he's been dead for a long time. So stop lobbying for the man, because you're wasting your time.

Answer 5

Rose's record totals of hits and outs have nothing to do with why he is ineligible for Hall consideration. That approach is a false argument.

Rose might get a second chance if he ever does a damn thing to begin approaching getting ready to make a start at initiating his personal and much-needed life restructuring and behavioral rehabilitation. So far all he's done in the past 18 years is get older.

Answer 6

I have to say, I'm not all up to speed on the exactness of his gamblings, but gambling for your team to win isn't going to make you get more hits, and if he was gambling against, well, then maybe he threw away some hits that he would have had. I don't think there's any reason to keep him out of the hall of fame. Unfortunately, the people in charge of electing him in have a holier than thou attitude, or so it seems. If he doesn't get in, I don't think there's any way in hell that Bonds should ever even see the ballot. Performance enhancers will boost your hits, homers and other stats as well. Rose got his hits clean, and there was nothing but ability behind those.

Answer 7

It's not just that he bet on baseball while he was a player; it was that he bet on his own team while he was the manager. That brings into question the integrity of the game.

Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. But HE screwed up by betting on his own team and then denying for close to 20 years. He only admitted it when he needed to sell a book.

Answer 8

The man made a deal with the devil and the price was to be forever ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

Answer 9

Imagine being father of the year after molesting your son. Rose had ONE rule -- JUST ONE rule -- to not break and he did it anyway. AS THE MANAGER!!! The one guy who really could influence the outcome of a game.
Let's put OJ on a prime time show. He didn't kill anyone in the movies, after all.

Answer 10

Sports is all about entertainment. Sometimes people get to connected with it, and I think they should take it easy. Gambling on games is not same as MATCH FIXING. He didn't rig any games for monetary reasons, so with his record Pete should be in HOF. If he's not then Bonds should certainly shouldn't be in.