It worked. Pete Rose's book debut's at #1.

[CShine 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1708563

[SLAG-91 1,610]

Pete's fessing up now was part publicity stunt and part gratuitous attempt to get Bud Selig to reinstate him.

As far as I am concerned, he can get into Cooperstown the same way the rest of us can...with a ticket.

[WarTiger 4,014]

Slag, he shouldn't even be allowed to go in with a ticket... A lifetime baseball ban should even include a trip to cooperstown as a VISITOR...

[PenguinAUB 0]

he'll be signing those books outside of cooperstown this summer.

takin the spotlight away from 2 great players, Eck and Moliter

[BamaGrad03 0]

Did Ryans (the writer for the boston globe and voter for the hall) say that he hopes rose burns in hell for that move?...ouch.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

Is he scum? YES - absolutely. But so were Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and a lot of other guys who are legends and are in the HOF. My opinion - HOF should be related to FEATS OF PROWESS ON THE FIELD ONLY. And if that is your only criteria, then Rose definitely deserves the HOF. There are LOTS of guys in the HOF who are/were NOT nice people off the field and did HORRIBLE things - drinking, drugs, beating up and raping women, fighting, etc. But their personal problems did not keep them out.

I KNOW I KNOW - HE BET ON BASEBALL. But you could make the same arguement that a player who misses a game winning catch in centerfield because he was stoned/drunk/hungover/whatever also could have had an outside influence contributing to the fairness of the game.

Should he EVER be allowed back into baseball as a manager? Hell should freeze over first.

[channonc 466]

That's exactly how I feel Jenny.

This is no different than all the guys that are on drugs or alcoholics. I do believe that gambling is an addiction and a powerful one at that. I think whether or not he goes into the hall of fame be determined by his playing ability and that's it.

Also, when have you ever known any celebrity to make these kind of announcements without self-promotion in the process... whether it be a book, a new movie, a new TV show, etc.

A celebrity selfish!! Tell me it ain't so!!

[WarTiger 4,014]

Jenny, you make an interesting point, and i heard the same thing on ESPN a week or two ago when they interviewed a few people debating on whether he belongs in the HOF or not. While i can't comment on the players that you mentioned, because i dont follow baseball that closely, I do know that a pre-requisit to getting into the HOF is to represent the game both on and off the field with DIGNITY, AND INTEGRITY. Rose has NEITHER of these qualities, and only admits to his wrongdoing NOW to sell books and hope to get reinstated to the game. He lacks the character and integrity needed to be in the HOF... Now, I'm not saying the others had these qualities, and apparently they didn't. I don't follow baseball that closely, so i don't know the whole situation with them. BUT, i do know the Pete Rose situation. He LIED to the public for 14+ years, gambled on the sport while being active in the sport, and deserves NO CONSIDERATION whatsoever for the HOF and should NEVER be reinstated...

[CarolinaTiger 0]

... He LIED to the public for 14+ years, gambled on the sport while being active in the sport, and deserves NO CONSIDERATION whatsoever for the HOF and should NEVER be reinstated...

i'm w/ pcola on this one.

to argue pete should get in because other 'bottomfeeders' who are no better than he is got in doesn't hold water w/me.

whether pete was a victim of his time (meaning had he committed the exact same 'crimes against baseball' 40 years earlier) or addicted or whatever, he broke the rules of baseball and doesn't meet the dignity/integrity standard either.

if it's consistency or fairness we're after, maybe we should be arguing that previously admitted lowlifes should be kicked out, not that we lower the current standards any lower for petey....

if pete rose gets reinstated to baseball, are we then going to go back and reinstate all 10-15 players who were kicked out of baseball?

ct

[TxWarEagle 3]

There is not one shred of evidence that Pete gambled when he was a player. Only when he was a coach (that I know).

I say you have to induct him as a player, and make it clear, it's as a player.

IMHO he is the greatest batter/competitor the of "almost" my generation (33 here).

It's the players hall, ask them. What they think is good enough for me.

[BustemBigBlue 189]

I think it's silly to keep him out of the hall of fame. He made one mistake and people treat him like he killed someone. OJ Simpson DID kill someone and he's in the football HOF. I guess baseball holds itself to a higher standard where you get zero 2nd chances.

[WarTiger 4,014]

I think it's silly to keep him out of the hall of fame. He made one mistake and people treat him like he killed someone. OJ Simpson DID kill someone and he's in the football HOF. I guess baseball holds itself to a higher standard where you get zero 2nd chances.

BUT, OJ SIMPSON was inducted into the HOF long before anything ever happened, AND (whether you believe his innocence or not) was AQUITED in a United States Court Room..... Rose was accused of something, vehimently denied it ever happened for 14 years, and now suddenly he ADMITS he did it.... So, one was AQUITED in a US COURT, and the other ADMITTED HIS GUILT.....after 14 years of lieing about it....

[Tigermike 3,711]

He lied about his gambling for 14-15 years. So if he is to be allowed into the HOF then let him wait 14 years. Let him in in 2018!

[SLAG-91 1,610]

I think it's silly to keep him out of the hall of fame. He made one mistake and people treat him like he killed someone. OJ Simpson DID kill someone and he's in the football HOF.

OJ, fortunately for him, was already a member of the NFL Hall of Fame in 1994.

A larger point here is that Rose engaged in an athletic form of insider trading with his chronic wagering on Reds games and other baseball games while he was the manager. When people engage in insider trading in the business world and get caught, they go to jail, lose jobs, etc. Pete Rose's ban is his equivalent of being in baseball's jail. Had he manned up and said something to the effect of "I did it, I'm ashamed of what I did and I regret the hurt and embarrassment this has caused to all parties, etc., etc.", then I might be more inclined to be sympathetic. The stunt he pulled recently, though, is "too little, too late" in my book.

The saddest thing out of the entire mess is that I think the stress of the investigation contributed mightily to the death of Bart Giamatti, one of the more eloquent and distinguished gentlemen baseball has ever known.

[PenguinAUB 0]

OJ didnt kill anyone. wheres the proof?

[CCTAU 3,536]

There is not one shred of evidence that Pete gambled when he was a player.  Only when he was a coach (that I know).

I say you have to induct him as a player, and make it clear, it's as a player.

IMHO he is the greatest batter/competitor the of  "almost" my generation (33 here).

It's the players hall, ask them.  What they think is good enough for me.

I agree. Tell him he can be up for a vote as a player only. AND. If he gets voted in, no ceremony, no nuthin. Just a plaque and a bust.

Why should he be kept out when what he accomplished as a player had nothing to do with what he did as a manager. Had he never managed baseball, this would not be an issue.

He is the greatest base hitter of all time. THAT needs to go recognized. Jenny is correct about the past players who were scurrilous at best. And many of those bet on baseball also. They just didn't get caught. Some say if you let Pete in, you gotta let shoeless Joe in too. Not really, Joe was a player when he committed his crime against baseball.

Nobody has to take it up the end in this one. A simple, hey, you are allowed to be up for a vote as a player with no fanfare should do. As long as he is out, Cooperstown remains incomplete as far as the accomplishments of players go.

I think its worse to have a commish who owns a team. That's worse than gambling. Talking about inside trading!

[Tigermike 3,711]

[SLAG-91 1,610]

Can't argue the point about Selig...dude has had conflict of interest going for many years now.

BUT...we're not talking about Proud To Be Yer Bud.

Oh, and this stuff about letting him in just as a player? Hello? Humpty Dumpty has fallen off of the wall and can't be put back together again...trying to divorce the player and manager aspect is extremely disingenuous...he was a player/manager for three years and some of his betting was going on at that time, too.

Dowd Report--1985 and 1986

It's truly a shame for him because he played the game hard and well...and then flushed all of that goodwill down the drain by doing something he KNEW was a colossal no-no in the baseball world.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

i am willing to admit that CCTAU is wrong on this.

let me ask a point of clarification here...

are we talking about 2 different things? reinstatement to "baseball", and then induction into the HOF?

reinstatement must happen before induction into HOF? is that right?

someone help me out here....

ct

[CCTAU 3,536]

i am willing to admit that CCTAU is wrong on this.

let me ask a point of clarification here...

are we talking about 2 different things? reinstatement to "baseball", and then induction into the HOF?

reinstatement must happen before induction into HOF? is that right?

someone help me out here....

ct

Stinking turd!

A am not advocating reinstatement to anything. I am only conceding that his accomplishments on the field need to be acknowledged in the HOF.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

cctau! we have some common ground!!!

i, too, agree that someone w/ pete's on-field accomplishments, should be recognized in the HOF. unfortunately the person attached to those accomplishments behaved in such a way that prevents that from happening, thereby depriving himself and us baseball fans the privilege of seeing it happen.

on an unrelated issue: isn't the term 'stinking turd' is a tad redundant...but i appreciate the thought you put into it

[PenguinAUB 0]

hank aaron said in today's AJC he is pissed at rose

[SLAG-91 1,610]

I would have no problem with Rose's hit record being mentioned in a display in Cooperstown...I don't think Johnny Vandermeer is in the Hall of Fame, but his back-to-back no-hitters is certainly worthy of mention.

[bammanmr 0]

Rose is my all-time favorite player, and I want him in. He is a bad person. OK. He's a rude, crude, jerk. OK. But he is one of the best players of all time, and probably the 2nd best of his era.

He bet on baseball and got a lifetime ban. Fine. What he did was break the cardinal rule of baseball and he should pay for it. I have no problem with that.

Here's where my frustration comes from. For the past couple of years, people with the pull to do it have been telling him, just admit that you bet on baseball and we'll consider reinstatement. Now he admits it (in his own coarse, tactless way) and everyone now jumps up and says, "Hey wait, that wasn't sincere enough. Your timing was bad. It was a publicity stunt, that's not the way we wanted you to do it Pete."

Make a choice people (the sports media, not you guys)!!!!! Either accept his admission of guilt and move to the next step or keep your freaking mouths shut to begin with. Pick one or the other, you can't have it both ways. I'm sick of listening to guys like Ralph Wiley and Bob Ryan. They couldn't hit, tackle or shoot their way out of a paper bag, and have never been able to. But they are fit to judge Pete Rose? Not a chance!!!!!!

[tigerlifer3 0]

I think it's silly to keep him out of the hall of fame. He made one mistake and people treat him like he killed someone. OJ Simpson DID kill someone and he's in the football HOF. I guess baseball holds itself to a higher standard where you get zero 2nd chances.

BUT, OJ SIMPSON was inducted into the HOF long before anything ever happened, AND (whether you believe his innocence or not) was AQUITED in a United States Court Room..... Rose was accused of something, vehimently denied it ever happened for 14 years, and now suddenly he ADMITS he did it.... So, one was AQUITED in a US COURT, and the other ADMITTED HIS GUILT.....after 14 years of lieing about it....

he may have been acquitted in the criminal courts, but he sure wasn't acquitted in the cival courts. He got handed a Multi-Million dollar wrongful death suit against him.