Pete Rose Possible Reinstatement ??

[ArmyBengal]

ESPN is reporting that Bud Selig is "seriously considering" reinstating Pete...

MLB commissioner Bud Selig appears to be "seriously considering" reinstatement for Pete Rose nearly 20 years after the hit king was banned from baseball for gambling on the sport, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

A former baseball chief thinks it's a moot point.

Hank Aaron's support for Rose's Hall of Fame inclusion, which he mentioned at this weekend's ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y., is a strong indication of Selig's possible action, the Daily News reported.

"I would like to see Pete in," Aaron said. "He belongs there."

But Fay Vincent, who took over as commissioner when Bart Giamatti died eight days after banishing Rose, said even if Rose were allowed onto the Hall ballot, it's unlikely to matter.

"There is no indication that there's any great support for Pete Rose to get in the Hall of Fame," Vincent said. "If members of the Hall of Fame say we don't want him, you've made a meaningless gesture."

Lobbying for the move began five years ago but died when Selig became convinced Rose was not "reconfiguring" his life, the newspaper report said, part of Giamatti's demands on Rose when he was ruled ineligible.

"I think a lot of the guys feel that it's been 20 years now for Pete, and would lean toward leniency and time served," an unnamed Hall of Famer said, according to the Daily News. "If he had admitted it in the first place and apologized way back then, he'd probably be in the Hall by now."

If Rose were to become eligible, he would have to be voted into the Hall of Fame by the 65 living members who make up the Veterans Committee.

Inclusion on the writers' ballot expires after 15 years, though Rose has never appeared on their ballot except by write-in. During his first year of eligibility, Rose received 41 write-in votes.

"I know there are still guys who feel strongly against him," said another Hall of Famer, according to the report. "And I don't know if that would change even if Selig clears him."

Vincent said he would tell Selig, "It's not about Pete Rose, it's about what's best for baseball."

"The deterrent for gambling is uppermost and it works," Vincent said. "Amidst enormous gambling in this country, if you touch the 'gambling third rail' in baseball, you die. Nobody has ever been reinstated. If you change that, you run the risk of a spate of episodes like Tim Donaghy in the NBA.

"It's not wise and not necessary."

Vincent said reinstating Rose exclusively for Hall consideration while disallowing him to return to baseballl professionally would also be a mistake.

"What you are saying is, it's a deterrent that only applies to players who aren't of Hall of Fame caliber, not to the .250 hitter, the third base coach or the bullpen catcher," Vincent said. "A double standard in the American system has never worked."

/>http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4358260

[semiotter]

Twenty years people, twenty years Geeeeeeeez. I know he isn't in prison or done jail time but this guy is one of the all time greats. I just don't get it. I think a lot has to do with the way Pete played the game, you know the running to first on a walk, the head first slide. Taking out Ray Fosse in a All Star game. I really believe that has something to do with it to But that was just Pete, who else have you ever seen that does those things? Some head first slides but nothing else. In closing I'm not holding my breath on this I think its just another headline grabber so the NFL doesn't get all the ink on the Vick story. I'm out Gooooooooo. O's

[BengalszoneBilly]

IMO Pete SHOULD be reinstated without delay, and be immediately inducted into the Hall of fame. Just as the great Hank Aaron said, "He belongs there".

[roman12003]

Pete is an old Pro, definitely needs to get back to team provided it’s mutually decided.

[ArmyBengal]

Even if reinstated, Pete won't be allowed to manage ever again (not that he would want to) and may not even get elected into the Hall of Fame. I think he should be there regardless, but I guess we are going to have to wait and see how the voters view him when the time comes. I think it will be cool that it would allow him to take part in more things with the club if he were to be reinstated. At least let the city and ballclub recognize him if the Hall decides to be ass holes about it.

[ArmyBengal]

Now Selig is reporting that this report may not be the case. ESPN has been good for this lately...

[BengalszoneBilly]

Now Selig is reporting that this report may not be the case. ESPN has been good for this lately...

Yet Barry Bonds remains on track for the HOF!?! Horses**t.

[ArmyBengal]

Barry Bonds pisses me off and if he can get into the Hall, Pete should be a no brainer.

[Ickey44]

I fail to see the logic in gambling getting you barred for life, but any other crimes merely get you a suspension. I understand the Black Sox scandal was a huge embarrassment for the league, but isn't all the players testing positive for steroids just as big a scandal? And these players are just getting suspended. For 50 games. Pete's been banned for twenty years. He needs to be reinstated and that rule needs to go. Should there be penalties for gambling? Sure. Should there be a lifetime ban on your very first offense? Hell no. Especially when you consider players like Steve Howe, Daryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Barry Bonds, Jose Conseco, etc have never been banned. It's a double standard in my book and one more reason I really don't care for baseball.

[redsbengalsbucks]

I fail to see the logic in gambling getting you barred for life, but any other crimes merely get you a suspension. I understand the Black Sox scandal was a huge embarrassment for the league, but isn't all the players testing positive for steroids just as big a scandal? And these players are just getting suspended. For 50 games. Pete's been banned for twenty years. He needs to be reinstated and that rule needs to go. Should there be penalties for gambling? Sure. Should there be a lifetime ban on your very first offense? Hell no. Especially when you consider players like Steve Howe, Daryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Barry Bonds, Jose Conseco, etc have never been banned. It's a double standard in my book and one more reason I really don't care for baseball.

Pete pissed off alot of people while a player and more as a coach, but he has paid his dues and deserves to be reinstated and put on the next HOF ballot. I fear that they are going to wait until he passes before they allow him back in, seems kinda petty to me though.

[Bearcat1975]

Shoeless Joe isn't allowed in the Hall either. Has he paid his dues yet?

[redsbengalsbucks]

Shoeless Joe isn't allowed in the Hall either. Has he paid his dues yet?

His is even more of a travesty, it was never proven that he was involved in the scheme. His stats almost point to the fact that he did a very poor job of throwing a series if he was trying to.

Jackson was the star of the Series, he hit the only homerun, fielded flawlessly, batted .375 to lead all players, and his twelve hits set a World Series record that stood until Pepper Martin tied it years later. Joe accounted for 11 of the Sox 20 runs in the Series, he led players on BOTH teams.

If this is trying to throw a game he must have been one hell of a player to be slacking and still get these kind of stats.

The whole steroids issue seems to make a mockery of any previous lifetime bans, when players can cheat while playing the game to get better stats than they should have, they should not be allowed into the HOF!!!

[ArmyBengal]

Pete Rose not in the Hall of Fame is a complete travesty of epic proportions. Don't like him as a player ?? Fine. Hate his as a coach ?? Fine. Think he should have handled things differently ?? Sure. To take away his accomplishments on the field and keep him out of the Hall of Fame ?? Utterly incomprehensible...

Shame, shame, shame...

[ArmyBengal]

I don't know about anyone else, but this is a very good read and explains some things many people don't (at least I didn't) know about Pete's situation.

It's a long read, but good one...

The Hit King's Hall of Fame Induction Day should have been 17 years ago this month.

Aug. 2, 1992. We would never have forgotten it.

Tom Seaver would have been there. Rollie Fingers would have been there. Hal Newhouser would have been there. It was their Induction Day, too. But everyone knows that, had the act of gambling never been invented, it would have been the Hit King's day.

Pete Rose had that way. Always had that way. He owned every room he ever entered. He was the magnetic force who stole every spotlight.

You couldn't convince your eyes to stop watching him play baseball. Your ears never got tired of listening to him speak the language of baseball.

So why are we still talking about him all these years later? That's why. Because Pete Rose was the most mesmerizing baseball figure of our lifetimes.

Twenty years ago Monday, I sat in that ballroom in Manhattan, listening to Bart Giamatti explain why he was banning "Mr. Rose" from baseball for life. I still remember the power of those words, the way they thundered through the room that day. And I still remember thinking how wrong it felt that the Hit King's career was coming to an end in a ballroom, not a ballpark.

Two decades later, it still feels wrong. Not because Bart Giamatti made the wrong decision. Because Pete Rose made so many wrong choices to force the commissioner to make it.

It's the saddest baseball story I ever covered. And it keeps getting sadder -- because we know now, 20 years later, that the Hit King's Induction Day is never going to arrive.

What's the scenario now that could ever make that day a reality? I can't find one. I can't see one.

Bud Selig will never make it happen. I know that. I'd say you could bet the beach-house mortgage on it, except I'm pretty sure all gambling analogies were also banned from Pete Rose stories for life by Bart Giamatti.

But even if Selig somehow changes his mind, even if some future commissioner reopens this case, the living Hall of Famers who make up the Veterans Committee aren't ever electing Pete Rose. Ever.

These people haven't elected Ron Santo. Haven't elected Gil Hodges. Haven't elected anybody -- anybody -- who has ever shown up on their ballot. So you think three-quarters of them are going to forgive -- and vote for -- the Hit King some day? Sorry. Never happening. Ever.

Me, personally? I would vote for Pete Rose -- Pete Rose the baseball player -- for the Hall of Fame. I try to remind people all the time that the Hall's a museum. It's not the Vatican. So I wouldn't nominate the Hit King for sainthood. But it seems absurd to me that the man who got the most hits in the history of baseball doesn't have a plaque with his name on it in the ultimate baseball museum.

I've grown to recognize that there's a distinction between the crimes and the career. I'd want his plaque to tell us about both. But that plaque should be hanging in that gallery nonetheless.

That's the thinking that would drive my vote. But it's a vote I'll never get to cast. Pete's time to appear on the writers' ballot is up. And I don't see any scenarios ahead that could change that, either.

So how is this story ever going to have a happy ending? It can't. And it won't. But it could have. And that's the saddest part of Pete Rose's story, 20 years later.

He's had so many chances to save himself. He just never knew how. He could never say the words he needed to say. He could never make the changes in his life he needed to make.

He could never bring himself to do what seemed so obvious, even six years ago, when his buddies Mike Schmidt and Joe Morgan practically drew a dotted line for him to follow.

My friend Willie Weinbaum produced a brilliant piece on Rose for "Outside the Lines" this weekend. In the course of working on that piece, he had long, fascinating, startlingly candid conversations with both Schmidt and Morgan about how hard they worked to get Rose a face-to-face meeting with Selig in 2003.

It was a meeting designed to capitalize on the national wave of sympathy for the Hit King that seemed to be building at the time, a meeting that was supposed to pave the way for Rose's reinstatement.

The meeting happened. The reinstatement never did. The aftermath still torments Rose's most loyal friends in the game.

Morgan actually shed a tear as he talked about his longtime teammate and what had become of his life. And Schmidt visibly agonized in frustration over Rose's inability to do and say what seemed so obvious to those of us not living inside the Hit King's skin.

"If it were me," Schmidt said, "and I had lived a lie for 14 years, and I went up to tell the commissioner that I was sincerely sorry for what I've done to my family, to the sport, etc., I probably would be back in baseball now and in the Hall of Fame -- because I would have been a tremendously remorseful individual. And I would have felt the burden of that the rest of my life, in everything that I did. And I would have, in my travels, been a totally different person.

"My lifestyle would have changed. I would have felt an obligation to change and to become someone that the baseball world would once again learn to love after forgiving me. I would have been that guy. And I don't think Pete has been."

There were no promises made to Rose that day in 2003. But Schmidt went into stunning detail about the topics on the table in that meeting.

The men in that room actually talked informally, he said, about how Rose should go about holding a news conference to admit what he never could admit all those years: that he'd bet on baseball. They kicked around when he should hold that session. And where.

That news conference, of course, has never taken place -- to this day.

But the men in that meeting also talked about the changes in lifestyle Rose was going to have to make. No more trips to Vegas. No more hanging out at the racetrack. That was going to have to stop.

And, of course, none of it ever stopped. Not then. Not now.

But the nature of the conversation tells you how much momentum was being built for Rose's reinstatement. It may not have been imminent. But it was clearly within reach.

"So we were very confident," Schmidt said, "that once we left Milwaukee, that some phone calls would ensue, some e-mails and discussions with Pete's representatives and the commissioner's office, that a plan would be put in place."

But that plan never even made it onto a crumpled up sheet of scrap paper in Selig's office. And that was no one's fault but the Hit King's alone.

People in the commissioner's office are still muttering that Rose's first public stop after leaving Selig's office was an appearance at a Vegas sports book. It wasn't quite the reconfiguration of Pete Rose's life they had in mind.

After that, just about everything went wrong that could have gone wrong. And I guess I should confess I was mixed up in part of the undoing myself.

I got word of Rose's meeting with Selig, which was supposed to be private, and reported it on ESPN. And that leak, Schmidt says now, reignited the furor swirling around Selig and turned up the heat from the anti-Rose crowd.

OK, maybe. But that heat wave was coming whether that news leaked or not. It was just a matter of when, not if. And even if it hadn't, we know now, without a doubt, that the big problem here was the Hit King himself.

He couldn't change. Or at least he didn't change. He knew -- or should have known -- what he had to do. He never did any of it.

He didn't avoid those sports books. He didn't swear off the track. He wasn't amenable to any compromises, wasn't willing to trade an ambassador-type job and spot on the Hall ballot for a concession that he'd never be allowed to manage again.

"Pete's interpretation of reconfiguring his life would be a lot different than our interpretation of reconfiguring his life," Schmidt said. "Pete's not doing anything illegal, and from that side of it, you know, you never know what could happen in the future. He's being prevented from earning a living in the industry in which he became a king. It would be almost akin to an actor being blackballed."

Yeah, almost. Maybe Bud Selig could have overlooked some of those transgressions. But there was zero chance he could overlook the way Rose chose to admit to the world that he had, in fact, bet on baseball.

Instead of a bare-his-soul news conference, Rose couldn't resist the sound of that cash register ringing. When he "told all" in a book, released it on Hall of Fame election week and launched into a book tour instead of a news conference, he was cooked. Forever.

That may all be on him. But it's still a sad tale. The Hit King is 68 years old now. He has lived two decades in purgatory. That's a lot of time to serve. And it has taken its toll, Morgan said.

"I feel that Pete's a different person now," Morgan said. "I think that's the other thing here. I think … he's different than he was. I think Pete always felt he was bulletproof before, and I think Pete feels now, or he has to know now, that he wasn't bigger than the game. He wasn't bigger than any situation. I think he realizes the mistake that he made.

"I think he realizes that he can never get those years back. I think he realizes that he doesn't want his legacy to be that he lied all those years and he never came clean. I think he's a different person now."

Only now it's too late. If he'd felt this way -- sincerely felt this way -- six years ago, you wouldn't be reading this column. If he'd just run the plays in the Schmidt/Rose/Selig playbook back then, his days as a pariah would be history.

Instead, his sentence now looks more like a life sentence every day. Which was just how Bart Giamatti portrayed it in that Manhattan ballroom exactly 20 years ago Monday.

Except back then, the permanence of it all hadn't set in. Now, though, it's hit us.

Now, 20 Hall of Fame Induction Days have come and gone. But the wait for the Hit King's very own Induction Day has never seemed longer.

/>http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=4418586

[Ickey44]

I get that gambling is the ultimate sin in baseball, but for Christ sakes, when you look at all that's wrong with baseball gambling doesn't even enter the equation. Steroids and lack of revenue sharing top that list to me. I still think it's ludicrous that players get a mere suspinsion for taking steroids (which is against the law) but you get a lifetime ban for betting (which isn't against the law).

Pete Rose should be in the HOF, no question. There are worse people in the HOF than Rose. This is among one of the many reasons I don't really respect MLB anymore.

[redsbengalsbucks]

I get that gambling is the ultimate sin in baseball, but for Christ sakes, when you look at all that's wrong with baseball gambling doesn't even enter the equation. Steroids and lack of revenue sharing top that list to me. I still think it's ludicrous that players get a mere suspinsion for taking steroids (which is against the law) but you get a lifetime ban for betting (which isn't against the law).

Pete Rose should be in the HOF, no question. There are worse people in the HOF than Rose. This is among one of the many reasons I don't really respect MLB anymore.

I'll second this opinion. It is a travesty that Bonds, McGuire and all the rest of the cheaters will be allowed multiple chances to be elected into the HOF and the Hit's King is denied the same chance.

I find it hard to believe that MLB sees gambling worse than cheating to get better stats.