Interesting ESPN poll regarding Pete Rose's lifetime ban

[HRBAKER]

Pete was his own worst enemy - he lied and lied for years and showed absolutely no contrition at all. You don't have to be a criminal to receive a lifetime ban from baseball. IMO baseball owes him nothing. I am fine either way - let him back in or keep him out. Also rescinding his ban doesn''t mean he'll ever be voted into the HOF.

[nolemmings]

"Keep Out !!!"

[Econteachert205]

I have huge issues with the hall in general, how players are voted in and the academics who have nothing to do with the game except to keep people out (landis, Kuhn, Bart g, bud). To be honest I would like to see pete get in only because of the type of people it would piss off to watch him ramble through a no doubt unwatchable acceptance speech. The whole hall was poisoned by the 1950's anyway when it got watered down by cronyism.

[brewing]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

I have huge issues with the hall in general, how players are voted in and the academics who have nothing to do with the game except to keep people out (landis, Kuhn, Bart g, bud). To be honest I would like to see pete get in only because of the type of people it would piss off to watch him ramble through a no doubt unwatchable acceptance speech. The whole hall was poisoned by the 1950's anyway when it got watered down by cronyism.

Couldn't agree more.

Additionally the PED issue adds to the hypocrisy of the Hall. A. Why is it ok managers with inflated win totals and WS titles because of PED get a pass? B. Last I checked using PEDs were no more illegal in MLB as smoking marijuana until the recent past.
I think Rose, Clemens, and Bonds are all narcissistic assholes, but they belong the greats of the game.

[clydepepper]

During his career, I was a big Pete Rose fan...but, nobody, I mean NOBODY is above the game.

I steadfastly remain in the minority (19%) on this one.

My regret is that Bart Giamatti did not live long enough to be seriously considered for Cooperstown...he did more for the honor of the game in his short time in office than many do in their lifetimes.

Bart Fans...are you out there?

[Shoebox]

I dont think Pete should be allowed to work in baseball in any capacity. That ban should remain in place. The HOF is a seperate entity and he should never have been made ineligible in my opinion. Put him on the ballot and if he gets the votes he is in. His plauqe should detail his accomplishments and the reasons for his ban. I also wouldnt give him a chance to make an induction speech. He can be included without being honored.

Off topic rants about the HOF process. It will always burn my ass that the VC didnt get Ron Santo in prior to his death. Any voter that changed their vote from No to Yes after his death ipitomizes everything that is wrong with the system.

Amphetimine use was rampant in baseball for 30 years. It is a PED. No one seems interested in excluding/exposing this class of PED users but declare 0 tolerance for another. Also steriods werent invent in the mid-90s. I wouldnt be shocked to learn that a few players generally regarded as certainly clean from a decade prior had used. Instead of witch hunting and using a compiled numbers checklist for HOF induction how about evaluating players based smong their standing among their contemporary peers? I guess it takes too much thought to try to determine if Craig Biggio was an elite player during his career than to just look and see did he get 3000 hits?

[KCRfan1]

I have no problem with Rose in the Hall. Rule 21 talks about the betting on games, and conduct detrimental to the game, which does not go into specifics yet casts a broad umbrella. It also covers that players need to give their best efforts to win the game. I don't know about the rest of you, but I see players dogging it in every game. So, if we are to folow the " rules ", most of the Hall is going to be empty afterwards due mostly to conduct detrimental to the game.

[bnorth]

In my opinion Pete should never be allowed in the HOF not even to visit.

[Jim65]

He gambled on baseball knowing full well what the possible punishment was, and lied about it for years, he only admitted gambling to sell a book. I hope his ban is never lifted.

[DHogan]

Originally Posted by Jim65

He gambled on baseball knowing full well what the possible punishment was, and lied about it for years, he only admitted gambling to sell a book. I hope his ban is never lifted.

+1

[Section103]

He signed an agreement with the commissioner accepting the lifetime ban. I dont see anything he's done to warrant overturning that agreement. Rather, if anything, I think his actions moved in the wrong directions since.

On a more nuanced view, I dont necessarily have a problem with him being in the HOF. In general, I tend to prefer players get in strictly on performance. Lay out their stories in full for the public to read. Present it to the player in advance of him going into the Hall. He can accept and go in or decline and stay out.

[CMIZ5290]

I personally think that if Rose would have immediately come clean, he would not have been banned. His dishonesty with the Commissioner was his undoing... Even though gambling is a big time violation, I honestly don't view it in the same respect as the steroid scandal. Let's be honest, how many athletes gamble? How many of us gamble? A ton.. I am not dismissing it as a serious character flaw, because it is. But his talents and records on the field had nothing to do with that. This guy loves baseball more than anyone I can think of, period.. Forget McGwire, Bonds, Clemons, etc.... I remember Bonds with the Pirates having a 30 inch waist, McGwire was skinny with the A's. Yes, they are not in the Hall and rightly so..There are guys in the Hall right now that were guilty of the same wrong doings, just different circumstances and times...Cobb, Speaker come to mind, as fantastic as they were... Rose should be part of baseball.....Just my opinion...And, he was the best competitor I ever saw....

[EvilKing00]

He should be in the hof as a player. He gambled as a manager and he should not be alloud to work in mlb again, but his efforts on the field show he is a hof player