Pete Rose--25th Anniversary of Record Breaking Hit

[POJO_Risin]

Pete Rose...a scrappy, aggressive player...the all-time hits leader...

Pete Rose...a scrappy, aggressive manager...and ultimately...a stubborn ass...who isn't in baseball today because he's a moron.

With that said, Rose is starting to figure things out a bit. Of course, Rose, who is 69, obviously can see that his chances of getting into the hall are getting more plentiful as he gets older.

Last night, Bud Selig allowed the Cincinnati Reds to honor their former player and manager on the 25th anniversary of his 4,192nd hit. For once, he didn't talk, he just took all the applause and gratitude for his achievements, without sticking his foot into his mouth.

Then...afterwards, in a small gathering, he said what he should have said 20 years ago...

from ESPN...


"I disrespected the game of baseball," Rose told a crowded ballroom. "When you do that, you disrespect your teammates, the game and your family."

Rose broke down as he spoke, according to the Enquirer, sobbing during a comedy roast that featured speeches from former Reds teammates Perez, Geronimo, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster and Tom Browning.

Rose recalled a 1989 conversation with Bart Giamatti in which the late baseball commissioner suggested he "reconfigure" his life.

"I didn't know what that meant," Rose said. "It took me years and years [to come to grips with it]. ... I'm a hard-headed guy. ... But I'm a lot better guy standing here tonight."

Rose apologized to his former teammates, including those who weren't in attendance -- Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Davey Concepcion, the Enquirer reported.

Rose offered an apology directly to Perez, seated at his right, looking straight at him.

"I've known Tony 50 years -- he's like a brother to me," Rose said.

It was, according to the Cincinnati newspaper, the first time Rose had publicly addressed his past transgressions in such a direct, emotional way.

"I guarantee everybody in this room, I will never disrespect you again," Rose said.

"You can talk about hits and runs and championship games. ... [But] I want my legacy to be [that of] somebody who came forward. If anybody has a problem here today, come forward. Don't hide it. ... You can run, but you can't hide. If I can help a young kid to know what I went through, maybe I can prevent them from going through the same thing.

"I got suspended 21 years ago. For 10-12 years, I kept it inside. ... That's changed. I'm a different guy. ... I love the fans, I love the game of baseball, and I love Cincinnati baseball."

"Nice, nice," said Perez afterward. "I was crying. He finally got it off his chest."

[Va Beach VH Fan]

An absolute joke that he's not eligible for the Hall....

Lemme get this straight....

Steve Howe can BREAK THE LAW and get busted for drugs, what, nine times, and yet still be eligible ?? ( I know he was never good enough for the HOF, but hey, he's eligible...) Same applies for Strawberry, Gooden, etc....

Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero, A-rod, etc, can BREAK THE LAW and take steroids and/or HGH, and yet still be eligible ??

But Pete Rose breaks the law with gambling, and he gets shut out of the HOF for life ??

It's been fucking bullshit from Day One....

And by the way, I grew up HATING Pete Rose as a Pirates fan....

[chefcraig]

Twenty years ago, Pete Rose was baseball's single pariah, as he was an outcast for things that took place off the playing field. Ultimately, this could work in his favor thanks to the fact that not only is he no longer baseball's only black sheep, but he has plenty of company with several disgraced players from the steroid era who's deeds took place on the playing field. It is unquestionable that his playing deserves to be recognized, so I believe that Rose will one day be in the HOF, but not in his own lifetime and only then through an unprecedented act on behalf of Major League Baseball.

[POJO_Risin]

I'll just say that betting on baseball vs. getting arrested for drugs vs. performance enhancers are different levels. Okay...I'll say more.

It's also been an unwritten rule since the beginning of time about the integrity of the game, and by integrity, I'm not talking about the players being pimps, whores, drug addicts...whatever...

With that said, he did it as a manager...then he should be eligible as a player...

If you are arrested for crack...there's your penalty...and likely...if you were a player...you get suspended...or banned...or whatever. Then you get to come back.

Performance enhancers are a bit different, and a bit more gray, but I will say that the current penalties...the three-strike policy...is a good one. Strike one is a 50-game ban, strike two is a 100-game ban, and strike three is a permanent ban. This should have been implemented from day one...instead of fucking Selig putting his head into the ground.

Gambling has always...always...always been a no-no because of the roots of baseball. Steroids is there now as well, but there's such a gray area with proof. Selig dropped the ball not dropping the 50-game ban on all the people in that Mitchell report...

I got fantasy football to get to...but I'll be back for this.

I do think things would have ended up different had Giamatti lived, and not died eight days later. Fay Vincent was head-hunting for Rose from the start. He wanted him banned long before Rose, like a fucking idiot, signed his life away. Many believe that Giamatti would have done whatever he could have to ensure that Rose was back in the game after the year...when Rose could apply for re-admission. I don't know. I do know that there's no doubt how much the whole thing took out of Giamatti...the toll of which likely killed him. Giamatti was the rare commissioner that loved the game as a fan first...but was high on the whole "integrity on the field" issue.

Like I said...as a player...he should be in...

...as a manager...no...

The problem is that the dumb fuck signed that stupid form...then Giamatti died. I guarantee you that there was some form of deal between Rose and Giamatti. From both of Rose's lawyers at the time of his banning...this past week...


Giamatti's death, Stachler said, was unfortunate for Rose and his fight to be re-instated to baseball.

"If A. Bartlett Giamatti would have lived, I think he would have reinstated Pete Rose at some point in time. I heard him comment that Pete Rose was 'consuming baseball, everybody was interested in him and not in the activities on the field,'" Stachler said.

"I think Giamatti was a nice guy, frankly, and I think he would have kept his word" to reinstate Rose.

When Rose accepted baseball's ban, part of the agreement Pitcairn said, was that Major League Baseball would keep an open mind about Rose's reinstatement. Perhaps Saturday's ceremony is a first step.

"It's about time," Pitcairn said.

[hideyoursheep]

Rose bet as a manager. He bet to win.

But what manager wouldn't?

Like you've already said...it's not like he toook performance inhancing drugs. He bet on his team...to win.

He didn't throw games. If he did, he SHOULD be banned.

Other than that, he shouldn't.

PERIOD.