Pete Rose Denied Hall of Fame Eligibility…For Good?

The baseball all time hits leader remains ineligible to even be voted in for the Hall of Fame. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred upheld Rose’ ban from baseball and eligibility from the Hall of Fame last week and it puts fans back in the same awkward situation.

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Last year I wrote on this same topic and had the following to offer:

"“In my opinion, I think all should be done to keep the Hall of Fame as pure as possible. By this token McGwire would not be in the Hall of Fame, because he has admitted steroid use. Barry Bonds is a tough one – because the evidence appears to be there but is blocked in the courts by his spineless trainer refusing to testify against him.. As opposed to Pete Rose, who is not even allowed to be voted on – I think the voters should be allowed to determine the fate of Clemens and Bonds, and they have spoken so far – but it allows for a change in the future.”"

Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union Tribune pointed out his own conflict on the issue:

"“Selfishly, though, I’d love to see Rose’s reaction walking into Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame. It’s the reason so many of us cave during the tear-jerker climax of a movie. Characters can be stained and flawed, but it doesn’t mean you can’t root for them.”"

We absolutely know what he did was terrible and wrong. Betting on the sport is bad enough. Betting on your own team is even worse – because at this point we are just waiting for Rose to say he did once in awhile bet on his team to lose – but the lies make are what really bury Rose.

Manfred said that his deciding factor really came after recently interviewing Rose. This is interesting because many other ‘banned’ athletes don’t get the chance to plead their case. Would “Shoeless” Joe Jackson been able to get his band lifted if able to interview a commissioner other than the dictator Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis? Rose had his chance to put 30 years of change to work – and he blew it.

"“He made assertions concerning his betting habits that were directly contradicted by documentary evidence. … And, significantly, he told me that currently he bets recreationally and legally on horses and sports, including Baseball. Even more troubling, in our interview, Rose initially denied betting on Baseball currently and only later in the interview did he ‘clarify’ his response to admit such betting.”"

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Pete, you blew it.

Recently, I also wrote about Morality in Sports and how teams need to take care of their players as a long term look at their lives. Whether or not morality should play in measuring the greatest of sports remains a hot topic. MLB in many ways appears to be maintaining a high ground with Rose, along with suspected steroid users like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and others who aren’t even proven cheaters yet treated as such for the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose had the last 30 years to try and make things right – and he blew it again.