Pete Rose's Ballot Eligibility Expires

AP ^ | 11/28/5

[SmithL]

New York -- Pete Rose's eligibility for the baseball writers' Hall of Fame ballot expired Monday when the 2006 candidates were announced, a group that includes Cy Young Award winners Orel Hershiser and Dwight Gooden.

Albert Belle, Will Clark and Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen were among 14 first-time candidates on the 29-man ballot. Bruce Sutter is the holdover who came closest to election, falling 43 votes shy last year.

Following an investigation of his gambling, Rose agreed in August 1989 to a lifetime ban. The Hall's board of directors voted unanimously in February 2001 that anyone on the permanently ineligible list couldn't appear on the BBWAA ballot.

Rose, baseball's career hits leader, applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met with commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002. His efforts to end his suspension appeared to falter after he admitted in his 2004 autobiography, "Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars," that he bet on the Cincinnati Reds while managing the teams in the late 1980s.

[Charles Henrickson]

The complete ballot:

Rick Aguilera, Albert Belle, Bert Blyleven, Will Clark, Dave Concepcion, Andre Dawson, Gary DiSarcina, Alex Fernandez, Gary Gaetti, Steve Garvey, Dwight Gooden, Rich Gossage, Ozzie Guillen, Orel Hershiser, Gregg Jefferies, Tommy John, Doug Jones, Don Mattingly, Willie McGee, Hal Morris, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter, Alan Trammell, Walt Weiss, John Wetteland

No clear, "lock" HOFers here. But I could see:

Blyleven, Sutter, Smith, and Gossage, among the pitchers. (John and Morris, maybe not.)

Concepcion and Trammell would be worthy of consideration at an under-represented position, SS, where offensive standards should not be the same as at 1b or OF.

Thus as far as Dawson or Rice (or Murphy or Parker or Garvey or Mattingly): I don't know that the numbers are there for the whole career for OF/1b standards.

The other consideration is the era a guy played in. 1960s-mid-'80s numbers are going to favor pitchers over hitters. In the late '80s, that begins to change.

[day10]

Will Clark had one of the most beautiful baseball swings I have ever seen.

[NerdDad]

I'm sorry, but if they are going to consider Gooden and Belle, then they should put Pete back on the ballot. His misdeeds are no better or worse than those committed by the other two aforementioned miscreants. And his baseball numbers are far better.

[alisasny]

Regarding the ballot nominees....are any of them up for the final time?

[right right]

Without Rose, the Hall is just a list of players. Google Hall of famers and murder. Ty Cobb beat a bum to death just for asking for money.

[Prodigal Son]

Whoa Hoss! That's blashemy! Ruth, Hornsby, Cy Young, Hammering Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig et al just a list of names without Rose?

I think not. Seriously.

I don't care who Cobb beat to death on the street he was the greatest hitter that ever lived and he didn't bet on baseball and get caught. Rose was a silly jackass that couldn't pick the flesh and mud out of Ty Cobb's spikes.

[right right]

Once you start "selecting based on outside data", it's just a list. It's the baseball hall of fame, not the sunday school ball players team. I dislike Rose and always have, but ..........

[Enterprise1788]

Jim Rice and Tommy John should be in the Hall of Fame, and I hope they voted in this year. Blyleven, Clark, and Concepcion, and maybe even Dawson and Hershiser are also good choices, and I wouldn't mind seeing them get in, but I can't say I'm a big fan of relief pitchers going to the Hall unless they are of and Eckersley or Rivera caliber, and Sutter and Gossage were not.

As for Pete Rose, he should be banned from baseball for life, as he did break the rules and should be punished accordingly. However, I think he still deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

[Thombo2]

If Pete would have addressed his problem with gambling(ie quit,joined GA),i believe he would have gotten into the HOF.As far as a player,he was one of the best,and gave it 110% every game.What he lacked in talent he made up for in effort.I watched an interview with him a few years back,and he was very evasive/defensive/arrogant when the host asked him about his proclivity for gambling.No remorse.I don't think he's learned very much.

[E Rocc]

At the very least, the years Rose was banned shouldn't count against his elgibility years. And quite frankly, I don't think a lifetime ban is warranted if he bet on his teams. If he bet against them, that would be a different matter.

-Eric