To Bet or Not to Bet?To Bet or Not to Bet?To Bet or Not to Bet?To hit a baseball in the major leagues could arguably be the hardest thing to do in the world of sports. If a ball player has an exceptional career, he is rewarded by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is not the case for Pete Rose. Rose is arguably the greatest hitter ever to play the game and he is banned from baseball and the Hall of Fame for life. It has been fifteen years since his lifetime ban was handed out, and it still remains one of the greatest debates in sports today. Betting on professional sports is illegal for all-professional athletes and coaches. There is no doubt that what Pete Rose did was wrong. However, what he did off the field does not diminish what he accomplished on the field and he should be judged accordingly. Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame.
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This document is broken into columns that deal with the players, coaches, and players as well as the fans. The Hall of Fame is a forum of sorts for the players and coaches of both professional and amateur baseball during the 20th century. Since it is the official state of the game, the Hall of Fame will be open for voting for every player of the 20th century. There are 11 of the players listed below, plus three more players that were present at this meeting. To enter the Hall of Fame vote, please click here.
A. Hall of Fame Voting Process
To view any player who was not present at the meeting, click here.
B. A Selection of Players
The Hall of Fame is an open nomination system where five or more players are first selected and then chosen by a committee comprised of three separate members, a public vote and a vote from fans, journalists, writers, and other contributors to a general idea to vote for. There are over two or three choices for each player in the pool of possible Hall of Fame nominees, among those who would be able to participate (e.g. Hall of Famers Joe Torre, Lou Gehrig etc.). These five nominees are confirmed when the voting is closed or on Wednesday. It is not possible to select anyone for a single meeting (e.g. it may be on the last day of the session without an open nomination deadline). Therefore, the last meeting not on the last night at which all four of the five nominees are to be put in place is not important in the best interest of the players. Additionally, there may not be a number of candidates for those who can participate at that time. There is no way for the players or representatives of the major leagues to change the rules of any meeting or voting process in such a way as to avoid the possibility that two or more of the nominees could not be picked at the meeting. It may be that, if the players nominate all five players, then they would still have to agree to change and are entitled to receive votes at every subsequent meeting.
C. Awarding All Hall of Famers a First Appointment by the Players’ Guild
After the players have been chosen and the players’ guild has accepted them, all players who will be given an honorary post in the Hall of Fame are allowed to apply to be on the list. These candidates then have a chance to serve their time in this position and become a member. Some individuals may also be nominated for the Hall of Fame. This committee, which consists of players, presidents, and congressmen from both professional and amateur baseball, selects their candidates for consideration. The players listed on this committee are most likely eligible to play in either major league of Baseball (AA), Baseball America (BCA), or International Baseball Hall of Fame (IBHE). The winners of these awards are designated for consideration and are eligible to serve their time in the Hall of Fame. A final decision will then be made by an independent independent group of players selected by the Hall of Fame.
It must be noted that voting results (of a single election) are not available to the public, and the results are automatically sent to the Office of Baseball Operations.
During his twenty-four year career Pete Rose was the ideal baseball player. He hustled, played every game like it was his last, and always wanted to win. No one ran the bases with more enthusiasm, or gave more effort on the field than Pete Rose. He played so hard he was given the nickname Charlie Hustle by his teammates. The best example of Rose’s love for the game would be “in 1970; baseball’s All-Star game came to Cincinnati’s recently completed Riverfront Stadium. Even President Nixon was in the crowd to watch the two leagues do battle. Like all great sports warriors, Pete Rose wanted to do well in front of the hometown crowd. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the twelfth inning. With two men out, Rose singled to center. He moved to second on a hit by Billy Grabarkewitz. Then Jim Hickman came to the plate. Hickman singled to center and Rose refused to stop on third base. With third base coach Leo Durocher waving him in, Rose furiously rounded third. As catcher Ray Fosse blocked the plate, the baseball and Pete Rose arrived at the same time. Like a football player headed for the end zone, Rose dropped his left shoulder, and bowled over the Cleveland catcher. In one of the truly finest moments in sport, Rose’s collision scored the winning run for the National League! His desire to win was so great that he would risk his career to win an exhibition game” (Yoho 1).
The greatness Rose achieved couldn’t exonerate him from the rules. Pete Rose was suspended for violating Rule 21(d) in the baseball rulebook. Rule 21(d) states that: Any player, umpire, league official, or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever, upon a baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be ineligible for one year. Any player, umpire, employee, club or league official, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon a baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible (Gutman, 205).
Rose and some players may feel that he belongs in the Hall of Fame but Major League Baseball sees it differently. They feel that Rose’s acts tarnished the game and that with all the evidence against him they did not have any other choice but to ban him. The lying that Rose has done has ruined his reputation for the rest of his life. This is a problem when you look at the criteria for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame states that “Voting shall be based upon the players record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played” (Rules for Election to the Hall of Fame). As many can see Rose must defend his integrity and character after years and years of lying. John Dowd made sure that all evidence was presented properly to show how devious Rose truly was.
The investigation to convict Rose for betting on baseball was headed by John Dowd. Investigating Rose’s activities, Dowd was able to compile enough evidence to prove to baseball authorities that Rose had indeed bet on baseball. Dowd was able to obtain betting slips in Rose’s handwriting and with his fingerprints on them, and also found Rose’s bookies who all confessed. Rose’s main bookies, Paul Jenzen, Tommy Gioiosa, Ron Peters, and Michael Bertolini all admitted they had placed bets for Rose, not only in baseball but also in a variety of other sports. Rose has admitted to placing bets with Bertolini but he says those bets were on football and only football. Rose claims that it is totally different than betting on baseball. As for the reports of placing bets with his other friends, Rose has denied all accusations.
>Rose: “To me, all the money in baseball is for the fans who want us to succeed. They’re the ones who’ve had the best players on the team and they know what we’ve got, our team.”
>Rose: “I love baseball. I love to play football. I love to have that experience. I just won’t let anyone down. My teammates have got my back, all of them. They’ve got a lot of guys up the mound who have hit the ball right out of my hand and got my hand right. My team has got guys who are out in the middle of their dugout. They’ve got guys who know me a lot better than my guy did that night. I don’t have anything to lose. That’s part of it, it’s true, but you have to do your part to make this squad good. You cannot say that any more, the people have got to make sure everything is 100% sure and I know where my man is and I’m ready to make sure I get a better chance at success and not take anything from my team.”
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The investigation to convict Rose for betting on baseball was headed by John Dowd. Investigating Rose’s activities, Dowd was able to compile enough evidence to prove to baseball authorities that Rose had indeed bet on baseball. Dowd was able to obtain betting slips in Rose’s handwriting and with his fingerprints on them, and also found Rose’s bookies who all confessed. Rose has admitted to placing bets with Bertolini but he says those bets were on football and only football. Rose claims that it is totally different than betting on baseball. As for the reports of placing bets with his other friends, Rose has denied all accusations.
>Rose: “To me, all the money in baseball is for the fans who want us to succeed. They’re the ones who’ve had the best players on the team and they know what we’ve got, our team.”
Almost as incriminating as the betting slips with his handwriting and fingerprints Dowd also secured several phone records. “According to Dowd, phone logs from the Reds clubhouse show numerous calls back and forth between Rose and Janzen and other gambling contacts during that period, many of them placed close to game times”(Steptoe, 4). Rose has lawyers who say