The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, enshrines the greatest players of all time. Not upstanding citizens, pillars of morality, men of character. All that matters is what they did on the diamond. The Hall of Fame is littered with players who were not good human beings; men who would never be voted as Citizens of the Year.
By all accounts, Pete Rose — who played for both the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies (and briefly for the Montreal Expos) — had deep, glaring character flaws. He was a man, after all, who received a lifetime ban from baseball for betting on games — never mind the fact that he always wagered for the Reds to win. Betting was and still is banned in Major League Baseball.
Baseball writers (reporters) vote for who will be in the Hall of Fame. Notably self-righteous and puritanical, these writers have kept otherwise worthy players out of the Hall for no other reason than they violated said writers’ personal moral codes. As a result, players such as Rose, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, and others are not in the Hall of Fame. It is inexcusable to keep these men from the recognition they deserve, if the standard is what players do on the field. And it is.
Pete Rose played 24 years, with a lifetime batting average of .303 and an on-base percentage (OBP) of .375. Rose, due to the length of his career, had more games (3562), at-bats (14,053), and hits (4,256) than any other player who played the game. Rose played more than 150 games (out of a 162-game schedule) 17 years out of his 24 year career. Named Charlie Hustle for his unrelenting, aggressive play, Rose was a player countless future ball players would emulate. And it is for these reasons alone that Rose should be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
Until recently, Rose was ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Numerous pleas to various baseball commissioners were ignored until Rose’s recent death. Rob Manfred, MLB’s current commissioner, recently lifted Rose’s ban, thus making him eligible for the Hall of Fame. That Manfred waited until Rose was dead before making this decision was a callous act of cowardice. Sure, it’s great that Rose is now eligible for the Hall, but it would have been nice to see Rose standing on the field at Great American Ballpark again, taking in the thunderous applause and cheers from fans recognizing his entrance into the Hall of Fame. Just tonight, the Reds celebrated Pete Rose Night. The stadium was packed as fans celebrated, not the man, but the baseball player. Tears welled up in my eyes as I reflected on all the great memories Rose provided me over the years as a diehard Reds fan. Regardless of his character flaws — and there were many — I will always remember Pete Rose.
It’s up to the baseball writers now to vote Rose into the Hall of Fame. Will they do the right thing? That remains to be seen.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I hold this opinion also!
Yes it STINKS that they waited for him to die first. I never thought about him standing on a mound to fans, which would be a great thing for him and the fans. I think there is a distinction that he always bet on his team. If he bet against his team that would be a bit more suspicious. One thing I’d point out is that the taboo of betting on baseball has a storied past with gambling and thrown games. So I get it, but the hall of fame is not for his betting on baseball, it’s for his years as a player. You can tell he is eligible, as a non-baseball fan like me knows who he is, and I knew who he is before the gambling ouster. (The list of others I can name: Hank Aaron, , Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, A couple of Tigers, Gibson and Whitaker, “The Bird” and that’s IT)