Pete Rose – Yes or No?

By now every baseball fan on the planet is aware to Pete Rose, the single best hitter to ever play the game, passed away on Monday in Nevada at the age of 83.

Like him or not (and most Dodger fans did not because of that ‘single best hitter to ever play the game’ thing), he was not a cheater, unlike several others that we know of.

He did, however, break a well-established rule by betting on baseball, charges which he initially (adamantly) denied but eventually admitted to and for which he received a lifetime ban by then MLB commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989 – a ban which, to this day, has prevented Rose from enshrinement into the sacred Halls of Cooperstown.

“One of the game’s greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts.” Giamatti said of Rose upon issuing the ban. Ironically, Giamatti died two weeks after imposing the lifetime ban on the man affectionately known as “Charlie Hustle.”

“One of the game’s greatest players…” – A. Bart Giamatti
(MLB)

What’s your take, Dodgers fans? Although he wouldn’t be around to enjoy baseball’s most prestigious honor, should Pete Rose be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum posthumously?

Fire away.

Play Ball!

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2 Responses to “Pete Rose – Yes or No?”

  1. Dam in Pasadena says:

    There is more than one way to cheat and Pete DID cheat. He cheated himself first of the one thing all his talent and hard work should have ensured for him – entry into the Hall of Fame. He stole that FROM himself, secondly to the Reds fans that revered him as their hometown boy made great and last to the world of true baseball fans to have his accomplishments forever tainted.

    Only a very few years from now there won’t be many who ever saw him play. They’ll only know the scandal and will assume he cheated ON the field or as manager.

    Yes, he should be in the Hall. It’s a museum and his on field accomplishments merit his inclusion. I think waiting 5 years from his death to attempt a reckoning with the game would be appropriate.

  2. OhioDodger says:

    HOF or not, he will always be the “Hit King”. Unlike Bonds, Clemens, and PED users his numbers are legit.

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