Pete Rose possible reinstatement..

[skinsfan0521]

His numbers are better than a few HOFers. Take Hack Wilson for example. He played 13 seasons, batted .356 with an OBP of .423 and a SLG of .517! He has practically 1800 hits! That's enough to get in. The hold up was that he was banned by the idiot commisioner at the time Mountain Landis. Besides his lower numbers, he should be allowed in simply because he was wrongly convicted and wrongly withheld from finishing his career. We all know that if he was allowed to finish his career, he would have dwarfed some of these other HOFers easy. Anyways, we'll see where it falls.

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about how good Shoeless Joe was or debate if he should get in or not...

What I will debate though is your comment about how if he were allowed to finish his career, he would have dwarfed other HOF numbers... people were saying the same things about Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, etc. How they were going to crush all the numbers and records and it wasn't even going to be a contest. Well, lots of other things can happen during a career that can derail the putting up of extreme numbers.

Again, I have no idea what kind of talent or numbers Shoeless Joe had when he was playing, but you shouldn't just put somebody in based purely on their potential.

Imagine all the people who could be put in on potential...

Just my .02

-Brian

[cincy13]

I knew I'd get blasted in here, but remember the NBA ref who made sure Tim Duncan fouled out to fix the playoffs? Come on, it could happen in baseball.

[coxfan]

I've no objection to putting Joe Jackson in the HOF and posthumously removing the ban on Buck Weaver, whose only offense was not revealing the others' plot. But I disagree that the "innocent" verdict exonerated anybody. The trial was a farce. Legal tecnicalities ( mainly ambiguities in the law) would have cleared them even if they'd all confessed! After the trial, the jury full of Sox fans celebrated at supper with the players.

Joe Jackson did confess, but his signed confession magically disappeared before the trial. Then it magically reappeared in the White Sox offices later when he sued them. Because of that, the lawsuit judge blocked his judgment on the grounds that he'd obviously perjured himself at one of the trials.

The real culprit who got away was Charles Comiskey, who almost certainly obtained and hid the confession in an effort to keep his players. There's no way he belongs in the HOF, but he's there.

[sylbry]

Landis was a pompous a-hole and Joe Jackson was the sacrificial lamb of baseball in the 20's.

Amen!

Although I think the legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson is greater than Hall of Famer Shoeless Joe Jackson. Shoeless Joe is like Babe Ruth's called shot. It is a story that should never conclude.

[cincy13]

I'm a native cincinnatian, and a reds fan, but Pete should not be allowed back in baseball. People think since he bet on the reds to win, it's ok, the fact is, he bet on the reds to win if certain pitchers were in the lineup on that day; which means if the other pitchers were pitching he wouldn't bet, the bookies then knew what pete thought of the reds chances of winning on that day. The other reason is, the pros are never satisfied with what they make, if rose gets in, you will see players being bought to throw a game. Pete did bet on baseball when he was a player, some think it was only when he was a manager (according to an ex-player whos been aroung a loooong time). I loved watching Pete play, but greed rules; letting Pete in would only tell the current players that it's ok, you'll get in the HOF even if you throw a game. I'm just sayin.....

[redoctober]

I'm a native cincinnatian, and a reds fan, but Pete should not be allowed back in baseball. People think since he bet on the reds to win, it's ok, the fact is, he bet on the reds to win if certain pitchers were in the lineup on that day; which means if the other pitchers were pitching he wouldn't bet, the bookies then knew what pete thought of the reds chances of winning on that day. The other reason is, the pros are never satisfied with what they make, if rose gets in, you will see players being bought to throw a game. Pete did bet on baseball when he was a player, some think it was only when he was a manager (according to an ex-player whos been aroung a loooong time). I loved watching Pete play, but greed rules; letting Pete in would only tell the current players that it's ok, you'll get in the HOF even if you throw a game. I'm just sayin.....

SERIOUSLY?????? You clearly have no idea about betting limits or sports betting in general. NO casino/bookie/sportsbook will take enough action on ONE game to make it worth "throwing" a game for a major league baseball player. PERIOD. The most you could get down is less than 5 figures -- please don't tell me that you believe that this is enough for a player to "throw a game"!!! Especially in baseball, where one player has much less impact than in a sport like say basketball.

Reinstating Rose would mean absolutely ZERO to current players, except that they may be able to benefit from his expertise if he was fully reinstated!!!

Compare Rose to the "steroid boys" and tell me who has affected the integrity of the game more. SERIOUSLY, is it even a debate????

[murfsteve25]

To bring a good point back up that was said earlier:

It's the Hall of FAME, not Morality.

There are reasons why each member of the HOF is in there, it's because they were beyond good at what they did. Pete is the all time hit leader, so its obvious that he was beyond good at hitting right? So he should be in. He didnt cheat to get those hits. He didnt use PED's. He did it right. He just happened to do something on the side that was away from his moments at the plate.

[33bird]

No offense Cincy13 but you're way off base. I'm with Red October. Pete played to win every game and he managed the same way. The info is that he bet on the Red EVERY game-not just with certain pitchers. How much he bet I don't know. There's no way he manages and starts betting again baseball again. He'll probably always gamble but I'm sure he could give up betting baseball.

[schubert1970]

I'm a huge Rose fan and when I initially heard the news today I was stunned.

As much as I think Pete was a great player, his gambling could have done more damage than good for the game of baseball. There are no excuses and he will never be in the HOF. If Pete was let in, what message will this send to the next player that thinks he's larger than the game itself. I think by keeping him out, it sends a srtong remider to the other players. If anything he will always serve the purpose as a stong example of what not to do.

For 90 years this rule has been posted in every clubhouse.

Rule 21
d) BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.

Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

Seems simple to me.

[skyking26]

To bring a good point back up that was said earlier:

It's the Hall of FAME, not Morality.

There are reasons why each member of the HOF is in there, it's because they were beyond good at what they did. Pete is the all time hit leader, so its obvious that he was beyond good at hitting right? So he should be in. He didnt cheat to get those hits. He didnt use PED's. He did it right. He just happened to do something on the side that was away from his moments at the plate.

This is a solid point. You start going thru that Hall, you will find off the field adventures most likely aplenty. Rose for the Hall.