Pete Rose
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<TABLE width=150 align=left border=0 MARGIN="10"><TBODY><TR><TD halign="center">
</TD></TR><TR><TD halign="center"><HR SIZE=1>Just betting would have cost him only a year’s suspension
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If Pete Rose were a cartoon character, which he most certainly is not, he would be the guy created by Al Capp in ‘L’il Abner who was perpetually dogged by bad luck, as illustrated by the dark cloud which was always hovering over his head. Among all the controversial and truly consequential issues of the day being publicly debated, none is more polarizing than the relatively trivial saga of Peter Edward Rose, baseball player extraordinaire, and tragically flawed human being. But the public’s insatiable appetite for melodramatic tabloid news, coupled with Rose’s celebrity status, and his historical insistence on invariably uttering precisely the wrong response to questions, makes him and his story, the controversy that won’t die. Pete’s admirers worship him and offer him forgiveness of biblical proportions. His detractors are furious over Rose’s transgressions and feel no punishment is severe enough to square the books. A baseball legend who disillusioned the public when it was revealed that he bet on baseball games, Rose was officially banned from Major League Baseball in 1989 for violation of Major League Rule 21, which states, in part: “Any player, umpire or Club or League or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible” Just betting on a ball game in which he did not play or manage would have cost him only a year’s suspension. By not admitting what he was convicted of, and for which there were enough credible sources to effectively blunt his denials, Pete cost himself 14 years and counting of expulsion from MLB. Even more devastating was the loss of respect and personal popularity he cost himself by the transparent lies. Now he has publicly admitted that he bet on baseball and his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, while he was their manager. Unfortunately, his soul bearing comes as part of a commercial effort which is disclosed in his latest autobiography, Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars, in which he refutes and contradicts himself from his earlier 1989 memoir, Pete Rose, My Story. In that tome, he collaborated with the highly respected author Roger Kahn. Former pitcher Jim Bouton, who authored one of the early scandalous best selling books about baseball in the early 70s, “Ball Four,” cut Rose no slack for finally ‘fessing up. “When you come forward and say, ‘I’ve been lying for 14 years, now read my book,’ that makes it a tough sell. Why would anybody believe what he’s saying now?” There is also the feeling that Rose has not come completely clean. He claims to never have bet from the clubhouse. But allegations to the contrary, that he made wagers over the clubhouse phone, and with runners, have surfaced. The sources are credible enough to cast doubt on the authenticity of Pete’s confessional. In a cruel twist of irony, Rose is now himself the subject of betting action. At least one off shore sports book, Betcbsports.com is offering two prop bets: will Rose be reinstated by MLB by opening day 2005, and will he be voted into the Hall of Fame. Right about here a little disclosure is in order. I grew up in Ohio and rooted for the Reds. Although Pete is hardly a role model in any aspect of life, except as a baseball player, and despite his hypocrisy, perfidy and outright lies, I am in the camp that believes he absolutely deserves to be voted into the HOF. When the new book came out, in addition to the expected barrage of negative comments, Rose got vehement criticism for having the publication date coincide with announcements for the latest inductees into the HOF which detracted from their day in the sun. Rose responded by saying the book’s launch date was scheduled long ago, and that he would never do anything to diminish that exciting news. “My publisher worked hard to contain the news of this book until after the Hall of Fame announcements, and we were both upset when a media leak … caused the news to be [prematurely announced],” he stated. Rose’s interest in getting back into baseball transcends his poignant quest to be admitted into the HOF during his lifetime. And his unabashed honesty on this issue might not work in his favor. Charlie Hustle wants to be able to come back and manage in the bigs. That’s where the big bucks are, and that’s a powerful incentive for him to do whatever it takes to restore himself to MLB’s good graces. Once again, Rose’s obsession with the financial rather than altruistic motivation works against him. Recently Pete addressed many of the questions that caused so many people to wonder what makes him tick. When asked if the truth has set him free, and doesn’t it feel good, he responded: “I’m just glad that everybody doesn’t have to go through what I put myself through the past 14 years…Now I have a job to do, to try and win back the respect of any fans I may have lost through the whole ordeal.” That might not be so easy. Los Angeles sports announcer Bret Lewis had this to say about Rose’s pleas for redemption. “Pete Rose was told for 14 years that all would be forgiven and he would get into the Hall of Fame if would admit he bet on baseball. “He did, and there has been a huge backlash…So Pete is upset and says it’s not fair. “Hey, Pete. I speak for America. We lied. How do you like it now?” Meanwhile, Rose feels that his gambling is recreational, and disputes those who claim he has a gambling problem. “I went to three or four G.A. meetings,” he explains. “I’d sit there and listen to other people talk about their problems, and I tried and tried to put myself in their position, but their stories didn’t sound like—I wasn’t stealing money to make bets…I was illegal betting with a bet maker but I was never desperate—take my house payment money or car payment—I took money that I had for entertainment and the entertainment that I had was gambling. He noted that at the time he was betting, he was a “pretty high salary individual to begin with.” Rose draws a clear distinction between himself and the 1919 Black Sox who were banned from baseball for life for betting on baseball. While admitting he’s not an expert on the subject, Rose said, “… the 1919 Black Sox scandal was a scandal because of guys taking money to lose … I don’t think that has any similarity to what I did … I have to take a different look at someone betting against their own team…that’s throwing the game.” As a footnote to the current firestorm related to the admissions in Rose’s book, it should be noted that a thorough and most professional mock trial over whether he should be admitted into the HOF was held on ESPN in July 2003. After three hours of testimony and jury deliberations of 90 minutes in the trial held at Harvard Law School, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran’s simple message that “Enough is enough,” resonated with the jury. In an 8-4 vote, the jury rejected prosecutor Alan Dershowitz’s arguments and closing statement, “If he bet on the game, there’s no Hall of Fame,” A poll of viewers, said ESPN, showed 79 percent of more than 300,000 respondents support Rose’s inclusion in the HOF. He says he’d so “anything they say” to get back in to baseball, then adds there would be no guarantees that he’d refrain entirely from gambling. “They also have to understand that one of my means of entertainment is going to the races.” Pete is still either too stubborn or not savvy enough to know statements like that sabotage all his best efforts. So far the powers that be in MLB have insisted on upholding antediluvian principles that are consistent with the Puritans, and the people behind the Salem witch trials, where those found guilty in a rigged trial were burned at the stake. Today, wrong-headed zealots still mete out the strongest punishment with unflinching self-righteousness.
<HR SIZE=1>
<TABLE width=150 align=left border=0 MARGIN="10"><TBODY><TR><TD halign="center">
<HR SIZE=1></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
If Pete Rose were a cartoon character, which he most certainly is not, he would be the guy created by Al Capp in ‘L’il Abner who was perpetually dogged by bad luck, as illustrated by the dark cloud which was always hovering over his head. Among all the controversial and truly consequential issues of the day being publicly debated, none is more polarizing than the relatively trivial saga of Peter Edward Rose, baseball player extraordinaire, and tragically flawed human being. But the public’s insatiable appetite for melodramatic tabloid news, coupled with Rose’s celebrity status, and his historical insistence on invariably uttering precisely the wrong response to questions, makes him and his story, the controversy that won’t die. Pete’s admirers worship him and offer him forgiveness of biblical proportions. His detractors are furious over Rose’s transgressions and feel no punishment is severe enough to square the books. A baseball legend who disillusioned the public when it was revealed that he bet on baseball games, Rose was officially banned from Major League Baseball in 1989 for violation of Major League Rule 21, which states, in part: “Any player, umpire or Club or League or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible” Just betting on a ball game in which he did not play or manage would have cost him only a year’s suspension. By not admitting what he was convicted of, and for which there were enough credible sources to effectively blunt his denials, Pete cost himself 14 years and counting of expulsion from MLB. Even more devastating was the loss of respect and personal popularity he cost himself by the transparent lies. Now he has publicly admitted that he bet on baseball and his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, while he was their manager. Unfortunately, his soul bearing comes as part of a commercial effort which is disclosed in his latest autobiography, Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars, in which he refutes and contradicts himself from his earlier 1989 memoir, Pete Rose, My Story. In that tome, he collaborated with the highly respected author Roger Kahn. Former pitcher Jim Bouton, who authored one of the early scandalous best selling books about baseball in the early 70s, “Ball Four,” cut Rose no slack for finally ‘fessing up. “When you come forward and say, ‘I’ve been lying for 14 years, now read my book,’ that makes it a tough sell. Why would anybody believe what he’s saying now?” There is also the feeling that Rose has not come completely clean. He claims to never have bet from the clubhouse. But allegations to the contrary, that he made wagers over the clubhouse phone, and with runners, have surfaced. The sources are credible enough to cast doubt on the authenticity of Pete’s confessional. In a cruel twist of irony, Rose is now himself the subject of betting action. At least one off shore sports book, Betcbsports.com is offering two prop bets: will Rose be reinstated by MLB by opening day 2005, and will he be voted into the Hall of Fame. Right about here a little disclosure is in order. I grew up in Ohio and rooted for the Reds. Although Pete is hardly a role model in any aspect of life, except as a baseball player, and despite his hypocrisy, perfidy and outright lies, I am in the camp that believes he absolutely deserves to be voted into the HOF. When the new book came out, in addition to the expected barrage of negative comments, Rose got vehement criticism for having the publication date coincide with announcements for the latest inductees into the HOF which detracted from their day in the sun. Rose responded by saying the book’s launch date was scheduled long ago, and that he would never do anything to diminish that exciting news. “My publisher worked hard to contain the news of this book until after the Hall of Fame announcements, and we were both upset when a media leak … caused the news to be [prematurely announced],” he stated. Rose’s interest in getting back into baseball transcends his poignant quest to be admitted into the HOF during his lifetime. And his unabashed honesty on this issue might not work in his favor. Charlie Hustle wants to be able to come back and manage in the bigs. That’s where the big bucks are, and that’s a powerful incentive for him to do whatever it takes to restore himself to MLB’s good graces. Once again, Rose’s obsession with the financial rather than altruistic motivation works against him. Recently Pete addressed many of the questions that caused so many people to wonder what makes him tick. When asked if the truth has set him free, and doesn’t it feel good, he responded: “I’m just glad that everybody doesn’t have to go through what I put myself through the past 14 years…Now I have a job to do, to try and win back the respect of any fans I may have lost through the whole ordeal.” That might not be so easy. Los Angeles sports announcer Bret Lewis had this to say about Rose’s pleas for redemption. “Pete Rose was told for 14 years that all would be forgiven and he would get into the Hall of Fame if would admit he bet on baseball. “He did, and there has been a huge backlash…So Pete is upset and says it’s not fair. “Hey, Pete. I speak for America. We lied. How do you like it now?” Meanwhile, Rose feels that his gambling is recreational, and disputes those who claim he has a gambling problem. “I went to three or four G.A. meetings,” he explains. “I’d sit there and listen to other people talk about their problems, and I tried and tried to put myself in their position, but their stories didn’t sound like—I wasn’t stealing money to make bets…I was illegal betting with a bet maker but I was never desperate—take my house payment money or car payment—I took money that I had for entertainment and the entertainment that I had was gambling. He noted that at the time he was betting, he was a “pretty high salary individual to begin with.” Rose draws a clear distinction between himself and the 1919 Black Sox who were banned from baseball for life for betting on baseball. While admitting he’s not an expert on the subject, Rose said, “… the 1919 Black Sox scandal was a scandal because of guys taking money to lose … I don’t think that has any similarity to what I did … I have to take a different look at someone betting against their own team…that’s throwing the game.” As a footnote to the current firestorm related to the admissions in Rose’s book, it should be noted that a thorough and most professional mock trial over whether he should be admitted into the HOF was held on ESPN in July 2003. After three hours of testimony and jury deliberations of 90 minutes in the trial held at Harvard Law School, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran’s simple message that “Enough is enough,” resonated with the jury. In an 8-4 vote, the jury rejected prosecutor Alan Dershowitz’s arguments and closing statement, “If he bet on the game, there’s no Hall of Fame,” A poll of viewers, said ESPN, showed 79 percent of more than 300,000 respondents support Rose’s inclusion in the HOF. He says he’d so “anything they say” to get back in to baseball, then adds there would be no guarantees that he’d refrain entirely from gambling. “They also have to understand that one of my means of entertainment is going to the races.” Pete is still either too stubborn or not savvy enough to know statements like that sabotage all his best efforts. So far the powers that be in MLB have insisted on upholding antediluvian principles that are consistent with the Puritans, and the people behind the Salem witch trials, where those found guilty in a rigged trial were burned at the stake. Today, wrong-headed zealots still mete out the strongest punishment with unflinching self-righteousness.
