As NFL fans wonder what color and city to get their latest Ron Mexico aka Mike Vick jersey in, I can’t help but think of one of my favorite all-time baseball players, Pete Rose.
What kind of world do we live in that Mike Vick, fresh from his 23-month federal sentence for leading a dogfighting ring, can be reinstated to the game of football, but baseball’s all-time hit king can’t get a break 20 years following his banishment?
I’m not here to defend Rose’s character or what type of person he is, but it’s certainly some food for thought. Even Hank Aaron said earlier this week he thinks Rose should be eligible for a Hall of Fame vote. Can there even be a baseball HOF without the sport’s greatest hitter? I’ve never been to Cooperstown, so as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t exist, kind of like Santa Claus post age five or a needle-free baseball clubhouse.
Mark McGwire was up for HOF consideration last year. He’s been implicated with steroid use and fell considerably short of the needed votes to earn induction, but he was still eligible. If betting on baseball is the cardinal sin of the game, what is steroid use? The taboo sin that’s OK if you want to take the risk?
Let Pete Rose into the HOF for his merits on the diamond. He bet as a coach, not a player. He earned all of his records and awards cleanly. Let him in as a player, not a coach. He PLAYED the game right. Just like Cal Ripken Jr., Rose was an icon and standard to be held on high for how to play.
As one reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote earlier this week, not acknowledging Pete in the Hall is like depriving young fans of the game’s history. Who wouldn’t want their son or daughter (softball) playing like Charlie Hustle? Rose once said “I’d walk through hell wearing a gasoline suit to play baseball.” That type of passion for a sport should be respected, revered and imitated.
Rose was seen at a Reds-Padres game this week. He had great seats behind the plate. Did he pay for them? I don’t know, but he didn’t get them from the ballclub. Rose must find his own way any time he wishes to watch a game. That’s a bit ridiculous when the team he propelled to two World Series Championships and a decade of dominance can’t reward him because of MLB’s ban.
Rose hasn’t made the best life decisions and he’s not the most cuddly human being, but his talent deserves its just recognition. Vick served nearly two years in jail for dogfighting and got a second chance from NFL commissioner Roger Goodel. Meanwhile, Rose has been suffering in his own personal prison for two decades thanks to a continued line of uptight succession now represented by Bud Selig.
America is built on second chances, give Pete his.
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