Rose Reinstatement

Should Pete Rose's lifetime ban from baseball be overturned?  Should he be in the Hall of Fame?  Those questions has been asked a lot in the past couple days, specifically yesterday, the 25th anniversary of Rose's banishment.  It's a complex question, and everyone you ask will have a different opinion on the subject, all of which would be perfectly valid.  Ultimately, though, it can only be answered by one man--Bud Selig

Selig holds Rose's fate in his hands, and you'd have to think this is something that, if it's going to be resolved, is something Bud would like to do himself.  Rob Manfred doesn't need that hanging over his head when he takes office in January.  And what Selig is going to do is anyone's guess.

Does it help his case that Rose finally admitted he was guilty of gambling on baseball while manager of the Reds?  It might.  I was actually surprised when he came out and said it.  Much like Lance Armstrong, Rose had been lying for so long that he was starting to believe those lies himself.  Coming clean was definitely a necessary step if Rose is ever going to receive contrition and, what he really wants, reinstatement.  Some view it as a good thing.  Now the truth is finally out there.  Others think it's further proof that his lifetime ban is justified.  "He knew what he was doing, lied about it and continued to lie about it.  Three strikes, you're out.  He got what he deserved."  And that viewpoint is completely justified.

In a way, the situation with Pete Rose is similar to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the other "culprits" of the Steroid Era.  The morality questions and Hall of Fame debates will go on forever about each of them, even if by some miracle Bonds, Clemens and crew do eventually get plaques in Cooperstown.

Except there's also a big difference between Rose and Bonds, Clemens, etc.  While they might be presumed guilty and some will never forgive them for their suspected offenses, most of the stars of the 90s and early 2000s are merely suspected of doing something.  Rose is definitely guilty.  Furthermore, the steroid guys weren't technically breaking any baseball rules, while Rose committed the cardinal sin.  If you think that's enough to justify Bonds, Clemens and the rest languishing on the Hall of Fame ballot and Rose being permanently barred, you're not alone.  Again, there isn't really a wrong opinion on any of this.

Personally, I'd like to see Pete Rose reinstated.  Whether or not I think he necessarily "deserves" reinstatement is a different question (I go back and forth on that one), but do I think baseball is setting a double-standard.  "How is what he did worse than what the Steroid Era guys did?," the Rose supporters argue.  And, frankly, I see their point, too.

The other reason I'm in favor of reinstatement is because I believe I second chances.  If he'd never made his admission, Rose would have no leg to stand on.  But he has.  He's owned up to his crime.  Must he keep being punished for it?  Pete Rose wants to be allowed inside a Major League ballpark without having to request permission.  The All-Star Game is in Cincinnati next year.  Cincinnati's the one place Rose is still beloved.  Let him be honored with his Big Red Machine teammates at the All-Star Game.  Let the Reds retire No. 14.  (They haven't given it out since Rose "retired" as their manager, but are technically not allowed to retire it in his honor.)

Mostly, though, I'd like to see Rose reinstated because it's unfathomable that the man with more hits than anyone in history can only get into the Hall of Fame if he buys a ticket.  I'm not suggesting that Rose should just automatically be put in the Hall of Fame.  I would like it to be a possibility, though.  Especially because I'm curious to see what kind of reception Pete Rose's name would get if it ever did appear on the ballot.

I'd imagine Rose would have just as hard a time crossing that threshold as the Steroid Era players have.  Of course, Rose wouldn't have to deal with the writers, who've made it pretty clear how they feel about the likes of Bonds, Clemens and many others.  He'd be placed in his appropriate era by the Veterans' Committee.  Although, getting in via that route has proven to be just as tricky.  I do think his chances would be a little better that way, though, especially if Johnny Bench or Tony Perez or Joe Morgan is in his corner and ends up on the committee.  (The Hall of Famers might be just as torn about Rose as the rest of us, though.)

My stance on Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame is the same as it is with Barry Bonds and Co.  It's not the Morality Hall of Fame (that fine, upstanding citizen Ty Cobb was its first ever member).  It's the Baseball Hall of Fame.  It's supposed to be a place where the game's all-time greats are honored.  And you'll never be able to convince me that Pete Rose isn't one of the all-time greats.  He's much more than just the all-time hits leader.  Baseball's last player-manager, he's the all-time leader in games played, won three World Series and made the All-Star team 17 times.  At five different positions!

A hundred years from now, when our grandchildren's children visit the Hall of Fame, they're going to wonder why the all-time hits leader, the all-time home run leader and one of the greatest right-handed pitchers of his generation aren't honored.  They'll ask their parents why, and their parents will have no idea.  They'll say something about gambling and steroids, but not really know any of the details.  Pete Rose and Barry Bonds will be just a distant memory by then.

Maybe the wounds are still a little too fresh.  But I think 25 years has been enough.  Reinstate Pete Rose.  He's served his time.  Let's move on.  And let's do it while he's still alive.