Whither Pete Rose?
©2015 by Lee Frederick Somerstein I love baseball, especially its history. That is why I am upset by the decision from Commissioner Rob Manfred that Hits King Pete Rose will forever be banned from baseball because he bet on the game both as a player and manager. That Rose did, indeed, place bets – even on his own team – is not in question. In fact, he stupidly admitted in his news conference after Manfred’s announcement that he still bets on baseball to this day. He definitely deserved a severe punishment. What bothers me is the commissioner’s – and Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) – petty vindictiveness and hypocrisy. What bothers me even more is that even though Rose technically could be eligible for a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF), that august institution still refuses to consider his entry because of the baseball ban. In 1991 the HOF passed a rule that bans anyone on baseball’s ineligible list from entrance into the hall. The HOF Board of Directors could ...