Pete
Rose has once again petitioned to be re-instated in to MLB. Since his initial
ban by then Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 he has made an appeal with each
new MLB Commissioner, being denied by both Fay Vincent and Bud Selig.
Pete
Rose, had he not been banned, would have been a first ballot selection
following a career that included 17 All-Star appearances, three World Series
titles, the 1973 MVP Award plus records for most hits (4,256) and games played
(3,562). After being pegged for gambling on the game while manager of the Reds
he agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 but after 25 years some people have begun
to sway their belief to maybe he has served his time.
In
1989 I was a firm believer that when banned he should remain banned for life
and his 2004 book “My Prison Without Walls” only strengthened my feelings
towards his ban when he finally admitted to gambling, 15 years after being
banned. I felt that maybe if he had admitted his gambling in the beginning a
suspension would have been fair but with the lying and finally telling the
truth in a book to make money the ban should remain in effect.
Manfred
has agreed to remain unbiased and will consider the appeal as well as review
the Dowd Report and read through Giamatti’s decision to make sure that
everything is known as agreed upon by both Giamatti and Rose before making a
decision, which I feel is very fair.
If
Rose is reinstated, which would mean he would almost certainly appear on the
next HOF ballot, does his value increase?
What is your take on the Rose situation?
Personally
I would rather see Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver reinstated first. While Jackson initially
admitting to taking money it was later shown that he had not taken any money,
he did not attend any of the meetings and he never spoke with any of the
gambler. In 1999 the U.S. government did an investigation and found he was
innocent and urged the MLB to reinstate him. Weaver isn’t a potential Hall of
Famer but was banned for simply knowing of the other players involved in throwing
the games, a rule that wouldn’t go in to effect for 2 years after he was
banned.
