May 29, 2020
By Adam Venezia
Staff Writer
Pete Rose is arguably one of the best-ever players in the MLB, and he isn’t even in the Hall of Fame. He is the all-time leader in career hits with 4,256. He also posted a career average of .303 and 1,314 runs batted in.
These numbers are certainly enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, so the question is: Why is he not with the greats yet? The reason Rose has not been added in is because of a scandal uncovered in August 1989. This was three years after Rose had retired as a player, but he was still in the league as a manager. The MLB found out he had been gambling on games when he was playing and managing for the Cincinnati Reds.
The odd part about this is that Rose had not been betting on the other team or simply throwing the game like the 1919 White Sox did in the World Series. He was betting that his own team would win its games, so it was impossible for him to guarantee his bet would end successfully.
He was betting that his own team would win its games, so it was impossible for him to guarantee his bet would end successfully.
It does not make sense for the players who were on the White Sox, who were actually throwing the biggest series of the year, to get the same punishment as Rose.
Rose had been trying to appeal the ban, but he was never able to get it overturned. With the Houston Astros’ lack of punishment this year, he may have built up his strongest case. The Astros had been using a camera in the 2017 season and postseason to help them win the World Series. They had a system to decode the signs of the catcher and the banging of a garbage can in the dugout let the hitter know what pitch was coming.
To many, this is the worst type of cheating seen in baseball’s history because one of the hardest parts of hitting is not knowing if the pitcher is throwing a 97 mph fastball or a 72 mph curveball that drops as soon as the hitter is about to swing.
After the MLB found out about the Astros in the past offseason, it began handing out suspensions. The MLB gave a one-year suspension to Carlos Beltran, Alex Cora and A.J. Hinch, who were all involved in the cheating but had been managing different clubs. These suspensions are light compared to what the athletes should have received. Not to mention the players were granted immunity if they confessed to what had been going on.
With this being a huge part of the game right now and people being outraged over the lack of punishment that they received, Rose saw an opportunity to plead his case once again. He wanted to prove that his punishment was too harsh and that he should be allowed to get into the Hall of Fame.
Although Rose is correct in the fact that he should be let back in, commissioner Rob Manfred has been hinting that the ban will not be overturned. It is crazy to think that in a game of integrity like baseball, the MLB could be so stubborn in its decision. Instead of recognizing all of Rose’s accomplishments, Rose has been wrongfully banned from the MLB.
