It Is Time For MLB To Forgive Pete Rose

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The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is a place to honor the greatest contributions of people to the game of baseball as it tells a tremendous story. Cy Young was immortalized there because he won more games (511) than any other pitcher in Major League Baseball history. On September 6, 1995, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. broke the unbreakable record of “The Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig when he appeared in 2,131 consecutive games. Ripken’s streak would end with 2,632 consecutive games and in 2007 he was enshrined in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Then there is the case of Pete Rose. Rose is MLB’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), plate appearances (15, 890) and at-bats (14,053), but he is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1989 then Major League Baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose for life including permanent ineligibility into the Baseball Hall of Fame due to Rose’s involvement in betting on baseball games while he was managing the Cincinnati Reds. What made the matter worse was that Giamatti died only eight days after banning Rose for life. Since Giamatti’s death, the two MLB commissioners that have succeeded him (Fay Vincent and Bud Selig) have refused to overturn his decision regarding Rose.

In the years that have followed the banishment from the game that he loves, Rose had admitted guilt and remorse over his betting on baseball games and he should now be enshrined into Cooperstown.

For 24 years Rose played the game of baseball with reckless abandon as he was nicknamed “Charlie Hustle”. Rose was a 17-time Major League Baseball All-Star, three-time World Series Champion, and a one-time National League MVP. In 1978 Rose came as close as any player has come to breaking Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak as he had a hit in 44 consecutive games.

Rose did bet on the Reds while managing the team between 1984-1989, but at least he bet on them to win. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but on his way out as MLB commissioner, the time is now for Selig to lift Rose’s lifetime ban.

Rose has recently gone public regarding his banishment and he makes a compelling argument for his reinstatement. The late 1990’s to the mid-2000’s will be defined as the “steroid era” in Major League Baseball. Players linked to steroids such as Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds are still a part of the game of baseball.

In 1998 McGwire surpassed Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61 when he went yard 70 times. McGwire would retire in 2001 before returning to the Cardinals in 2010 as a hitting coach. McGwire is currently the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2001 Bonds would surpass McGwire’s 70 home runs when he hit 73 homers. In 2007 Bonds surpassed Henry Aaron’s mark of 755 career home runs. Bonds finished his MLB career with 762 career home runs and his 756th home run ball is at Cooperstown. Up until his retirement that season, Bonds’ jersey was on sale at MLB.com. The Giants also brought Bonds back this year as a guest spring training instructor.

In 2011, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun was selected as the NL MVP. Shortly thereafter reports surfaced that Braun tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, but he skated by on a technicality due to the fact that the tester did not immediately ship Braun’s test to the lab. Braun would subsequently be suspended by Major League Baseball last season for 65 games due to being linked to the Biogenesis Scandal. In spite of this Braun was never asked by Selig to return his MVP award.

After the 2011 MLB season, the Kansas City Royals traded outfielder Mekly Cabrera to the Giants. In 2012 with the Giants, Cabreara was in the midst of a career season as he was batting .346 with 11 homers, and 60 runs batted in. Cabrera was selected to the National League’s All-Star team in 2012 and he was also named as the game’s MVP. But shortly thereafter Cabrera tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. San Francisco was in the midst of a postseason run and Giants general manager Brian Sabean declined to bring Cabrera back to the team in spite of the fact that he was eligible. The Giants would go on to win the World Series without Cabrera. Cabrera was in search of a big payday that off-season, but he had to settle for a two-year, $16 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Last year then Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz was suspended by MLB for 50 games due to his involvement in the Biogenesis Scandal. The Rangers let Cruz hit free agency last winter where the Orioles signed him to a one-year deal for $8.5 million. Cruz was voted by the fans to this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game and he is currently second in the American League in home runs this season with 28. Cruz is set for a huge payday in the off-season for his services.

While steroids were a part of baseball, some folks in MLB turned a blind eye to it and in spite of drastic measures by Selig to eliminate it from the game, the players that have used performance-enhancing drugs have been welcomed back with open with open arms while Rose continues to get the dry shaft.

Major League Baseball continues to be filled with hypocrisy. Ty Cobb was an open racist yet he is immortalized in Cooperstown as one of the best baseball players. With next year’s MLB All-Star Game set to take place in Rose’s hometown of Cincinnati, the time is now for things to come full circle. 25 years have gone by without Rose having that burden lifted off of his back. Rose made a big mistake and he has indeed paid for it. But if Selig and MLB continue to turn their backs on him they will continue to set the wrong precedent.

Source: Baseball-reference.com

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By | 2014-07-17T02:52:09+00:00 July 16th, 2014|Categories: Major League Baseball|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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