Friday, February 13, 2015

It's been long enough...

Pete Rose, one of the all time greatest hitters and one of the best competitors in baseball has been banned from the game of baseball since 1989. He was questioned about betting on baseball games while he managed the Cincinnati Reds. It came out that he was gambling, but there was no evidence that he was betting that the Reds to lose games.
Pete Rose, the player, was one of the greatest competitors to ever play the game. He played the game to win and be the best player in the game. Even in the All Star game he left it all out on the field and that was clear in the 1970 All Star game when he ran over Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians to score the winning run.Yes, he did seriously hurt Fosse and pretty much costed him his career, but that was Rose's style of play. As a hitter he would finish his career with the most hits ever with 4,256 and a career slash line of .303/.375/.409. Add in 17 All Star appearances, multiple batting titles, a MVP and 3 World Series rings he should be in the Hall of Fame as a player.

Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect. The All Star game is going to be held in Cincinnati this year. We have a new Commissioner of Baseball with Rob Manfred. This would be a perfect time for the MLB to lift Pete Rose's ban on baseball. He has apologized for his actions. My simple argument for Pete Rose is that he should in the Hall of Fame for what he did as a player. When he was betting on baseball he was managing the Reds. He did not have a Hall of Fame career as a manager, but as a player.

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