Even Jim Rice is in the Hall of Fame now, but Pete Rose isn’t.
I say put Pete in the Hall. Here’s why.
You’re all quick to throw your heroes away, and you shouldn’t.
There were tons of McGwire & Sosa jerseys around in the mid 90s. Everyone knew they were on steroids. New York City had a ticker-tape parade for a Chicago Cub! Barry Bonds can break that record, great let’s all watch Joe buck make the call! Then you turned on Bonds too when it turned out he wasn’t that nice of a guy. Then Clemens was the cool story in baseball – wow 340 wins! Then you turned on him too.
Andy Pettitte is another hero with a decision to make these days. If he resigns with the Yankees he can be a “Yankee for life” but if he signs with someone else, then he’ll wind up as Clemens’ hated steroid buddy.
Pete Rose. 4256 Hits. 3 rings. 17 time all star. If you saw him play you know how good he was. Nobody ever once thought he was not trying to win. People in Cincinnati loved him, and people in Philadelphia loved him.
He did a bad thing. It has been twenty years. If you have to put “suspended from baseball” on the plaque then do it. Otherwise please remove all the bats and balls and uniforms and other Pete Rose memorabilia from the building in Cooperstown. While you’re at it, let’s put some asterisks next to some of the World Series winners – maybe the 1980 Royals should be declared retroactive champions since Pete is a non-person.
You can’t have a Hall of Fame without the all time hits leader, the home run season leader, the home run career leader, and a guy that in 2007 was being called the best pitcher in 50 years. You can’t undo the record book. You can’t take back the spitballs, you can’t take back the steroid-added home runs, you can’t take back 4256 hits.
It’s time to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.
Put ’em all in. Pete’s been ostracized for 20 years. Enough.
