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You have to be out of your mind if you think a cheater like Pete Rose should be inducted into the hall of fame. You say his 4,256 hits, .303 lifetime batting average and 3,562 games played make him a surefire candidate at the hall.
Well, no duh! Any player would be inducted twice already with those numbers.
I'd like to say that statistics aren't the only criteria for reaching the hall, but then there's a ton of mean old bastards like Ty Cobb we like to celebrate. Good ole Ty was known for sharpening his cleats so the shortstop would get the hell out of his way when he slid into second.
Too bad for Rose Though
He's a cheater. And cheaters don't go into the hall of fame.
This all goes back to the 1919 Chicago Black Socks scandal (if you want a history lesson, go see Eight Men Out). For right now, the main thing you need to know is that eight ballplayers from the Chicago White Sox were accused of participating in a betting scandal to throw the 1919 World Series. In the turn of events, Major League Baseball instituted Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the first Commissioner of Baseball, who later banned all eight players for life.
Landis' ruling wasn't just to spite these guys for being crooks. By banning these players for life, it set the standard that Major League Baseball will not allow its game to become corrupted, and if any player threatens its integrity, that player should be banned from having any association with the league.
Rose Didn't Bet Against His Team
I know what you're saying. Those guys threw the World Series. No one in his right mind would ever do that these days. Hell, the Seattle Mariners have been around for almost 30 years, and they'd love a chance just to lose the World Series.
It's true that Pete Rose admits that he never bet against his team, but he lied about that for almost 13 years. Consider how Rose could manipulate the outcome of a game as the Reds manager. For example, if the Reds were expected to win by three or less, and his team was up by five, there was nothing stopping him from throwing in a bum of a pitcher to make a more competitive game. He could still win the game, but make more money by betting on the spread.
Keep the Sanctity of the Game
Staged sporting events are for bugger eaters who watch WWE. Baseball is a competitive game with guys who make millions to bust their ass for a win. That's what I pay for. If baseball wants to honor a guy who tampered with the sanctity of the game, I can take my money somewhere else.
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