When Pete Rose was booked for ESPN Radio with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, I'm guessing the producers were simply hoping for a few entertaining quotes about his new exhibit in the Reds Hall of Fame. Instead, he dropped this bombshell:
"I bet on my team every night. I didn't bet on my team four nights a week. I was wrong," Rose said.Rose finally admitted in his autobiography released in 2004 that he bet on baseball, but this is the first time he's explicitly revealed that the Dowd Report was correct and that he did in fact place wagers on the Reds while he was managing the team.
Rose said that he believed in his team so much that he bet on them to win every night.
"I bet on my team to win every night because I love my team, I believe in my team," Rose said. "I did everything in my power every night to win that game."
Does Rose think finally coming clean will get him into the Hall of Fame? Maybe it will sway some voters, but unlike a lot of sports, he's not supposed to be judged solely for what happened on the field. Rule #5 of the Rules for Election to the Hall of Fame states:
Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.That's a tough standard to live up to, especially for a guy who's spent the better part of the last two decades lying about his actions. It seems every couple of years he reveals a little bit more about what he did wrong -- who's to say that it won't someday come out that he placed wagers while he was still playing?
Rose added that he's no longer concerned about making the Hall of Fame, but that he just wants to be reinstated so that he can manage again. Maybe it could happen in Cincinnati, but I can't think of a tougher sell management would have to make to a team's fans elsewhere around the majors. Do you think Bud Selig should reinstate Rose? Make your case in the comments.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pete Rose may be many things.... an arrogant jerk, a tax cheat, a habitual gambler, and a cheating two timer (ask any of his wives).
But Ty Cobb was a nasty, hateful racist his own teammates despised, and Babe Ruth was known for his excesses with women and the bottle. While not role models for our children, they were recognized for their ability to play baseball and deservedly have a spot in the Hall of Fame.
That said, Pete Rose was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame, personality flaws and all. The Hall of Fame isn't for paragons of virtue, it's for those who excel in the sport.
i grew up a phillies fan and couldn't stand him when they played the reds...but i got to admire and respect what he did on the field day in and day out...he deserves to be in...at least it hasn't come up that he took steroids...
PETE ROSE,WHAT A STORY. IF ONLY HE HAD TOLD THE TRUTH MANY YEARS AGO. HE NOT ONLY LIED TO BASEBALL, US HIS FANS, AND TO HIMSELF. TO COME CLEAN NOW IS TO LATE. HE KNEW BETTING ON BASEBALL, WHILE A PLAYER, WAS WRONG. I LIVE IN CINCINNATI, GREW UP WATCHING THE REDS, CHEERED THEM ON IN '75 & '76. PETE SHAMED THIS GREAT BASEBALL TOWN, SHAMED HIMSELF. NOOOOOOO HE DOES NOT BELONG IN THE HALL OF FAME, YES TO THE HALL OF SHAME. LOOK WHAT HIS ACTIONED DID TO HIS SON, LITTLE PETE. I SEE SO MANY FATHER/SONS THAT HAVE DONE SO GREAT IN BASEBALL. PETE GOES AROUND NOW AND THINKS WE WILL FORGIVE HIM, NA BABY NA. HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO GET BACK INTO BASEBALL. STILL A REDS FAN, NOT A ROSE FAN!!!!!!!!!!!
I never had any doubt that Pete bet on baseball. Growing up in the environment that he grew up in Pete took gambling as being accepted. He's not a dummy by any stretch of anyone's imagination. Pete knew all about Rule 5 and the consequences of getting caught. Thanks to being a friend to poor Tommie G,Pete learned how a down and out drug useing muscle freak can turn on a man who gave him a house and a home in exchange for his friendship.Still in all, Pete deserves in the Hall of Fame based on his accomplishments on the playing field,namely 4,256 hits that I'll bet will never be surpassed. Put Pete Rose where he belongs--------in the Hall of Fame but never back into the operations of running any phase of any baseball.
Won't go to Cooperstown because of their denying Pete's entry. Never seen a player who gave so much effort.
Pirate fan who enjoying the big red machine Bench, Morgan ,G.Fostr and Rose. Probably best team ever saw.
Charley Hustle gave his all to baeball, now they turn their bac on him.
Pete Rose and the HOF is such an old yesterday subject. Pete needs to be in the HOF and deserves to be in the HOF. In my opinion, the HOF is a joke unless he's there. This is an "I'll show you" subject. Old "White" wanna-be's making decisions for all of us. (BTW, I'm white) If Pete Rose's crime was so wrong, then please get totally rid of sports. The man was an animal on the field, he was millions of little kids hero while he was playing. He's paid dearly for his mistakes. In this case I say forgive him and give him is rightful place in history. There was never, and never will be another "Charlie Hustle".
By todays standards, as some of things professional athletes get in trouble for, Rose is a light weight. He's not any less or more flawed than any other players today or historically. The reason for him to be in the hall of fame is simple: He was THAT GOOD. I feel like he should know that if that much does happen it'll happen postumously and that's good enough. He belongs there no matter when it happens.
Why are we so self-righteous? Men were hitting HR after HR all roided up and we continued to watch and cheer. We continued to buy our season tickets to watch the synthetic superstars crush 500ft home runs. Pete Rose; 4256 hits juiced up on nothing but heart and hustle. HOF for Pete Rose.
Based on the dubious drug using achievements of many "modern" players as well as the many other "sins" like illegiitimate kids etc, I would allow Rose into the Hall of Fame. He was a great player and his morals probably werent any worse than Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and many others. Since gambling has been proven as an addiction he also could be argued to have been acting beyond controllable impulses. Bottom line he personified most of the real attributes we respect in sports heros. As a coach, however, I would keep him out. I just dont see his brand of baseball and attitude working anymore...todays players are spoiled brats most of them. Once you are guaranteed big $$ up front your whole incentive goes to hell. Most dont have the work ethic anymore.....Rose would be a failure as a manager/coach.
What in the world is wrong with a little wagering? People need to really calm down about the whole betting-on-your-own-team thing. After all, isn't accepting a salary while your team is winning (with the possibility of being fired and losing that salary if your team loses games) effectively the same thing as wagering that your team will win ball games? Besides the fact that some people make the assertion that betting on a ball game is wrong, what is reall that wrong with it? Just my two cents, but c'mon, Pete was a phenomenal ball player. He should be in the hall of fame.
In Chicago, we have this thing with Tank Johnson and I have great respect for the Bears not turning their back on him. I think baseball has done this with Pete Rose. Rose hase 3000 plus SINGLES! Did he bet on baseball then? we all knew he bet on baseball. I think its better to know that he bet the Reds every night. Think about this, Zeke Thomas was voted into the hoop HOF after he ruined the CBA, and cost people jobs from players to hot dog vendors. Why? because he was the best player under 6 feet since Cousey. And Thomas is in the Basketball HOF, whereas Rose cant get in the MLB HOF.
Thanks to pete rose for telling the truth and verifying what is so true about him...he is one stupid guy! Keep up the good work PETE you are one bright guy.... O and if you have any more secrets please spare us your stupidity and keep it to your self, ok?
While I agree that Rose was a great player with tons of enthusiasm for the game, he simply blew off his on the field credibility when he lied. He knew the consquences, but the rules were for the other guys playing the game not him. When you think about it he was like that when he played. It was full steam ahead and don't get in my way. There is up side to that ----4256 hits----excitement, the way the past time should be played. But, the excitement off the field to keep the intensity there for him is the price he must (and should) pay for the choice he made. As a side note: if Rose should be considered for the "Hall" then so should Shoeless Joe. It is the same thing to me: INTEGRITY. Both men lost it and lost their right to be enshrined.
reinstate him and yes to the hall of fame. Pete can still give something to baseball!
reinstate him, and yes to the hall of fame. Pete can still give something to baseball
Selig needs to look in the mirror for 20 minutes, realize the he is not St. Peter "BUD" SELIG, and then re-instate Pete, and get him on the ballot for the hall of fame. Then all the people with votes need to look in the mirror for an hour. Then vote the man in......He was a ball player, and one of the best I ever saw play, not an altar boy.....I saw many of the great Yankees of the '60s who made the hall, carousing around till dawn in the bars of Kansas City, and that did't disqualify them.
Growing up as a boy, Pete Rose was a hero to me, as well as all my friends. Pete Rose held the same caliber of a man as did John Wayne and Joe Namath. To see him play was one of life's pleasures. We all wanted to be Pete Rose when he bowled over many a catcher. I'm sure those catchers don't share my sentiment, hehe. When the news of Pete Rose's misdeeds went public, I was crushed as was most anybody else. And yes, it was even worse when he didn't readily admit what he had done and didn't think of his many little fans who idolized him. I have felt sadness because he hasn't been able to take his rightful place in history, as one of the HOF'ers. Now that he has completely admitted his mistakes, I cannot hold him in a different light than I would want to be held. Pete Rose has in essence opened himself up and is a bit vulnerable. I think a little human decency would go a long way. He deserves to be in the HOF. His hits record will never be met again. I will not stand in his way to get in the Hall. I also think that baseball needs to rethink this decision and do what the fans want. Pete Rose, you are again the man you once were. Thank you Charlie Hustle......
For me it's not about the HOF, I just want to see Charlie Hustle on a baseball field again. The bottom line, he loves the game and his intensity is great fun to watch.
When I was 11 years old the Reds were in town to play my Padres. I asked him for an autograph.....his exact words were "Can't you see I'm busy, boy?" This was right after he had been chattin up some buxom blonde.
Karma? Yeah! This guy was a great baseball player. Does he deserve a HOF induction? No....he knew the rules. PERIOD!!
I agree with Hickory Blue Devil.... allow him into the HOF, but not back in baseball operations.
And I'll agree with everyone who called Pete Rose a jerk, too. My spouse and I ran into him in an elevator in the Las Vegas MGM Grande a few years ago. He was with some 6 ft. blonde who was young enough to be his daughter (while he was still married to his 3rd wife). He wouldn't even talk to us or look our way, and we were the only people on the elevator. He won't even give out an autograph unless somebody pays for it.
But the HOF isn't for model citizens, it's for the best ball players, whether they're jerks or not. If you want model citizens, fill the HOF with a bunch of Nobel Prize winners. But would you really want to watch a ball game with Ghandi or Mother Teresa as your leadoff man or would you rather see Charlie Hustle?