Pete Rose could go into the Hall of Fame without being reinstated by Major League Baseball6/22/2015
ESPN's Outside The Lines released a new report on Pete Rose today, stating that they had found documents that showed that Rose had bet on baseball while he had been a player, something that had never before been known. Rose has admitted to betting on the Reds to win as a manager, but never as a player.
Again, this brings up the question of reinstatement for Rose. With the new commissioner Rob Manfred, Rose did apply for reinstatement back into the league, which would allow him to participate in baseball-activities, such as throwing out a first pitch at a Major League game, and perhaps let him into the Hall of Fame. Many writers believed that, with this report, Rose had blown his second chance at being allowed back into baseball. While I don't necessarily agree, they have a valid point. Rose not only bet on the game, which is already punishable by banishment, but he also lied about it for all these years. Even still, Rose did nothing on the field to taint his statistics (as far as PEDs go). This gives him a more favorable view in my eye, as I believe that Rose should be in the Hall of Fame before the writers even consider putting Barry Bonds and the PED users in (not that they never should, but that's a whole separate issue). On Twitter, I brought up the question to my followers: Should Pete Rose be allowed to be reinstated? The results are below. Every retweet is a vote for Pete's reinstatement, while every favorite is a vote against it.
But then a follower of mine, Josh Barnes, brought up a very solid idea, one that I think would be a good compromise for both sides.
Barnes suggested that Rose be banned from being allowed to do baseball-related activities (like throwing out the first pitch), but should still be put in the Hall of Fame for his on-field abilities, including being the all-time hits leader with a whopping 4,256.
That way, Rose is given the opportunity to be where he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but still punished for ruining the integrity of the game by betting on baseball. After doing some research, I found that the National Baseball Hall of Fame is its own entity and does not fall under the umbrella of MLB. This means that it could put Pete Rose on the ballot, even if he is on baseball's permanently suspended list. Following the banishment of Pete Rose, the Baseball Hall of Fame made a rule that it would not allow barred players into the Hall of Fame, which has kept Rose out ever since. However, that rule was made by the Hall of Fame, not by Major League Baseball. So, even if Rose is banned, the Hall of Fame could technically still put him on the ballot, they would just have to break their own rule, not MLB's. Could Pete Rose still be put in the Hall of Fame without being reinstated by MLB? It probably isn't a realistic option to actually happen, but is an interesting perspective on this whole situation nonetheless. --Devan Fink
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