Pete Rose the hardest playing baseball player I have ever seen past away today at age 83. He never took a play off and played to win all the time. With his history of gambling I was going to put this under the legalizing gambling thread about college football but thought this needed it's own thread. I still think he should be in the hall of fame especially with the proliferation of all the gambling we are bombarded with whenever we watch a sporting event.
OT: Pete Rose
- Thread starter Arlcatsfan
- Start date
He was one of the best players during his time, and he does deserve his place in the Hall of Fame, regardless of the gambling, especially since it seems gambling online is all the rage now, and the insane money involved. To me all sports have been severely tainted by it. I can't watch a NFL game anymore without thinking it is fixed with all of the strange calls, either by the officials or even the coaches. I am sticking with college football, but concentrating my attention on both my Alma Maters and NU. There is no money in FCS football, especially in a league with non scholarship players.
I loved Pete Rose as a kid, but he admitted to betting on his own team's games, which is hard to defend even in an era of ubiquitous legal sports gambling.
As a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan whose formative years were spent in Cincinnati, I have always been torn about Pete. He was a local hero and undoubtedly one of the best ever. While I was a bit too young to appreciate the Big Red Machine in the moment, my dad and I did get tickets to see Pete's first game back when he became player-manager. In that game, he hit a triple complete with a patented head-first slide into third base. The stadium was electric!
I also faced his son in a high school baseball game (Pete Rose Jr.). He hit a double off me. It was no big accomplishment for him... I was a pretty terrible pitcher.
However, it is a little hard to gloss over the fact that he bet on his own team while player-manager. On top of that, he was an unrepentant jerk for most of his life.
The Reds' fan in me wanted to see everyone get past that and give him his due, including the Hall of Fame. Now that he is gone, it seems appropriate to me to put him in the Hall with the necessary explanations of his troubled tenure. At this point, we are no longer punishing him. We are punishing fans of the game who need to appreciate how amazing it was what he did. He bet on his team, but he didn't cheat to achieve those remarkable accomplishments.
I also faced his son in a high school baseball game (Pete Rose Jr.). He hit a double off me. It was no big accomplishment for him... I was a pretty terrible pitcher.
However, it is a little hard to gloss over the fact that he bet on his own team while player-manager. On top of that, he was an unrepentant jerk for most of his life.
The Reds' fan in me wanted to see everyone get past that and give him his due, including the Hall of Fame. Now that he is gone, it seems appropriate to me to put him in the Hall with the necessary explanations of his troubled tenure. At this point, we are no longer punishing him. We are punishing fans of the game who need to appreciate how amazing it was what he did. He bet on his team, but he didn't cheat to achieve those remarkable accomplishments.
I originally put this on the gambling thread, before realizing there was a PR thread. It is ridiculous that Pete is not in the HOF.
Pete bet on his team to WIN when he was a Manager. There is no evidence he ever bet while a player or against his team. This doesn’t make it right for Pete to bet on his team to win, but let’s not treat it like he somehow impacted the integrity of the game. Baseball decided to wipe out 23 years as a player. The MLB all time leader in hits, in at bats. A 17 time all star, 3 time World Series Champ.
Baseball has a thriving relationship with Gambling sites right now. I guess it is ok when they are making money. The HOF is littered with players of questionable character including openly racist inductees. Get with it baseball, everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. Stop the hypocrisy with Pete and Shoeless Joe.
Pete bet on his team to WIN when he was a Manager. There is no evidence he ever bet while a player or against his team. This doesn’t make it right for Pete to bet on his team to win, but let’s not treat it like he somehow impacted the integrity of the game. Baseball decided to wipe out 23 years as a player. The MLB all time leader in hits, in at bats. A 17 time all star, 3 time World Series Champ.
Baseball has a thriving relationship with Gambling sites right now. I guess it is ok when they are making money. The HOF is littered with players of questionable character including openly racist inductees. Get with it baseball, everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance. Stop the hypocrisy with Pete and Shoeless Joe.
Pete Rose and Joe Jackson are apples to oranges. Rose as manager bet on his team to win. Jackson and his crooked friends threw the World Series. Jackson in the HOF? I’d pick Joe Wallis, or any other honest ball player, ahead of him.
Well he hit .375 in that series and threw a guy out at the plate. Strange way to cheat.
I also saw Pete Rose play for the Reds, starting when he was a rookie. My dad and I would go down the I-75 and see a Sat twi-night doubleheader and maybe we’d stay for the Sunday game. He was definitely the iconic figure for the Reds during my youth.
May he rest in peace.
May he rest in peace.
