Let me just be straight up about my feelings on Pete Rose - he is my favorite player of all-time.
So now we have the annual debate back again as to whether or not his lifetime suspension from baseball should be lifted. Hall-of-Famer Frank Howard says yes. This morning ESPN reported that Hall-of-Famer Bob Feller and others would stage a walk-out at Pete's Cooperstown induction ceremony. No matter what the outcome, Bud Selig's decision will be hotly debated.
What Major League Baseball needs to do is stop being hypocritical. There is only one off-the-field rule, and that is not to bet on baseball. Yet if you visit the MLB Web site, you can sign up for a Fantasy Baseball Leagues in which you can win prizes. Last time I checked, paying money in hopes of winning something via game of chance is called gambling.
I will never forget the day that A. Bartlett Giamatti stepped to the podium and announced that Pete had agreen to the lifetime ban, and that MLB had agreed to no finding that Pete bet on baseball. I was at work, at Owl Drugs, standing in front of the pharmacy counter. There was stunned silence from everyone.
And then Giamatti broke the agreement by saying he believed Pete bet on baseball.
In my opinion, had Giamatti not died a week later, Pete would have only had to serve a one-year suspension, as others, Leo Durocher for example, had done in the past. Remember, Baseball agreed that there was no finding that Pete bet on baseball.
My sincere hope is that they do not force Pete to give some sham apology for all of this. That would be more humiliating than anything.
Baseball needs to realize that it's time to reevaluate some of their policies. As a former player in college, I can tell you that it's far worse for a player to use performace-enhancing drugs than to bet on the game. In fact, I know a current player who, according to a close friend of his, did steroids in college in order to give himself an advantage. And we know from what Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti have said that many other players have done the same thing.
Baseball has essentially been an embarassment to itself since Bart Giamatti was named Commissioner. Everything has been a mess. From World Series cancellations to All-Star Game ties to out-of-control salaries, Baseball has done nothing but consistently make the wrong decisions.
For once, they have a chance to get something right, but I doubt that they will. I think that they will force Pete to apologize for this mess, which is just as much their fault as it is his.