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Politics is a Game of Second Chances -- Why Not Baseball?
Townhall.com ^ | April 29, 2015 | Bob Barr

Posted on 04/29/2015 10:20:27 AM PDT by Kaslin

Hillary’s back for a second run at the presidency. Several Republican presidential wannabes are begging the voters for a second -- or, in some cases, third -- chance. Barack Obama already asked for his and, unfortunately for the country, was granted a second term as President. History is replete with examples of politicians seeking and being given second chances. Indeed, America is a nation founded on the notion that if you work hard and earn your way back, you deserve a Mulligan.

Except, that is, if your name happens to be Pete Rose.

Rose, one of major league baseball’s all-time leading hitters, made a serious error in judgment a generation ago by betting on outcomes of ball games while he was still actively involved in the League. He was caught; he owned up to it; he was punished severely; he paid and continues to pay the price; he has not repeated the error; and he is seeking redemption from Major League Baseball. What has been the response to Rose’s pleas – in essence, “Pete Rose will never, ever, be forgiven or granted redemption; no matter what he does, and for all of time, he will never be given a second chance.”

If Pete Rose were a candidate for high political office rather than a contender for the Baseball Hall of Fame, the story would be quite different. In politics, second chances are awarded routinely. For MLB, the bar of redemption has been set far higher; for Rose, seemingly impossibly higher.

Characteristically, Rose has continued fighting to get back into the arena. Earlier this month, he asked the new baseball Commissioner to reinstate him to the game; a request denied by every previous commissioner since Rose was banned in 1989. For Rose, this is his bottom-of-the-ninth, full-count moment. It is his last shot at redemption. His odds – not good.

Despite the many, proven examples of professional ball players boosting their performances, their statistics and their pay with illicit drugs in the years since Rose was banished, it is Rose who continues to be hermetically shut out from the sport; not the Alex Rodriguezes.

Why the double standard? Perhaps it has to do with baseball’s deeply imbued sense of history and tradition. The gambling and game-fixing scandal of the 1920s Chicago “Black Sox” is one of the most ignominious black marks in the history of any sport; and Rose’s gambling clearly conjured the ghosts of the past. Rose’s hyper-competitive, defiant nature – not filtered through a phalanx of PR handlers – probably has not made his task any easier.

However, baseball is not just about history and personalities; it is, at its core, a game of redemption and second chances; in a sense, nearly every element of the game is built on this foundation. Batters are given three strikes; not one. Pitchers are granted four balls. Teams are afforded three outs, and nine innings; often in a three-game series. Championship series are decided not in a single game, but by a series of seven games.

The theme of second chances, woven into the fabric of the sport like the red stitching on a baseball, is the genesis of its heroic lore. It is the essence of stories like the injured Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homerun in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series; or the Boston Red Sox’s miracle comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship. And, it is the story of Pete Rose; who in the twilight of his storied career, managed to break a seemingly unbreakable, 57-year old record for most career hits held by Ty Cobb.

It is for this reason why reinstating Rose in baseball should not be viewed as a measure of how we feel about Rose the man, but about how we value Rose the player, and even America itself.

Look at politics today, and see how many of those in power were once facing scrutiny for conduct that should have been career-ending. Instead, some, like Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have risen from scandal and defeat to become thought leaders for our country; others, like Hillary Clinton, will face a trial of fire in gaining the public’s trust while trying to make the most of hers. No matter whether such people actually deserve a second chance, the virtue of this being the country that it is, at the very least grants them an opportunity to demonstrate why they have earned one.

It is hard to argue that “Charlie Hustle” has not earned at least the same opportunity. Reinstatement is not about whitewashing the sins of the past; but rather about giving one of the sport’s most legendary icons a shot at the recognition he spent 23 years playing to achieve. “Everyday is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again,” baseball legend Bob Feller once quipped. “That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”

It is time Commissioner Rob Manfred starts a new game with Pete Rose, and allows him the opportunity to finish it in the Hall of Fame.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: baseball; politics

1 posted on 04/29/2015 10:20:27 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

So, because baseball didn’t take strong action against steroids earlier on, that means that baseball’s strict rules about gambling should not be enforced???


2 posted on 04/29/2015 10:26:48 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Kaslin
Why even have a Hall of Fame anymore?

With the Internet having everyone's stats out there, there's no need to single out anyone for special recognition.

Leon Wagner's out there just as much as Babe Ruth.

3 posted on 04/29/2015 10:27:10 AM PDT by MUDDOG
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To: Kaslin

The Hall of Fame is a separate issue from Rose being reinstated. The Hall of Fame is voted on by the baseball writers, who are completely separate from the administration of major league baseball. I would also point out that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens,etc. Have had weak support in Hall of Fame voting. They are not banned from baseball but are still being punished, if that’s the right word, by not being in the Hall of Fame in spite of their statistical accomplishments.


4 posted on 04/29/2015 10:31:22 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Kaslin

The problem for Rose, is that we all thought of him as “Charlie Hustle”. When you bet on your own games, it means there is an incentive to “Charlie NOT Hustle quite so much”.

Should there be a policy against that?

Should the penalties for that be the strongest of any penalties, concerning the game?

Baseball is a competition sport. If the fans want to be entertained, they can go watch a movie or see a play.

When they go see baseball, they root for the home team, and want to see an honest effort. If that ‘honest effort’ isn’t a factor, Baseball dies.

Baseball has a vested interest in making sure players know they can’t toy with tossing games for profit.

Who knew?


5 posted on 04/29/2015 10:38:31 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (Conservatism: Now home to liars too. And we'll support them. Yea... GOPe)
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To: Kaslin
Rose broke the rules, he needs to pay the price.

But those players who achieved notoriety while taking steroids need to pay as well. Regardless of how popular they are.

6 posted on 04/29/2015 10:39:18 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: Kaslin

wah wah wah! poor rich pete rose! he was such a big shot gambling on his own sport, denying it when caught, even attacking those who exposed his chicanery...now he wants it all to be made better.

you broke the rule, crybaby. you knew what would happen. grow up and take your medicine.

and most importantly take your pathetic ass and go away


7 posted on 04/29/2015 10:48:01 AM PDT by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
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To: Kaslin

If he is reinstated, he would then be eligible to coach or even manage a minor or major league team. Given his longstanding ties to Las Vegas, would folks be OK with him as the hitting coach of the Cincinnati Reds?


8 posted on 04/29/2015 10:55:17 AM PDT by oincobx
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To: Kaslin
He was caught; he owned up to it;

Wrong. He lied about it for 15 years after he was kicked out of the game. Only when he decided to make some money writing a 'tell-all' book did he come clean. These were not nickel and dime bets either. He was betting thousands of dollars on games.

He was a good player, but he does not belong in the HoF.

9 posted on 04/29/2015 10:57:13 AM PDT by Ditto
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To: Kaslin
People forget how big a threat gambling was. When Rose came up, the minimum salary was $5000. The team bus driver made that much!

Nowadays, there is no gambler alive rich enough to buy off a pro athlete.

It's Curt Flood and Marvin Miller who deserve to be in the HOF. They forced the free market into baseball.

10 posted on 04/29/2015 11:16:12 AM PDT by Forgotten Amendments (Peace On Earth! Purity of Essence! McCain/Ripper 2016)
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To: MUDDOG

“Get your rags from Daddy Wags!” ;)


11 posted on 04/29/2015 11:31:33 AM PDT by Forgotten Amendments (Peace On Earth! Purity of Essence! McCain/Ripper 2016)
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To: Forgotten Amendments

You bet! I loved Daddy Wags.


12 posted on 04/29/2015 11:34:04 AM PDT by MUDDOG
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To: Kaslin
By protesting against ANY Pete Rose re-instatement, I stand with those who want to to help protect the game--an American game, a game that was once played by so many that it was called the national past-time.

To simply overlook the fact that Rose gambled on the outcome of games is a snide reminder that there is a double standard going on here. Were Pete Rose black, I'm willing to guess, based on past experience, that many would be hysterical and hateful toward him for his ethics violation.
13 posted on 04/29/2015 12:26:28 PM PDT by righttackle44 (Take scalps. Leave the bodies as a warning.)
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To: Kaslin

Baseball will never become as low as politics IMHO.

.


14 posted on 04/29/2015 12:29:07 PM PDT by Mears (To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."Voltaire))
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To: Kaslin
We are talking about the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The all-time hits leader Pete Rose is banned from the Hall of Fame. Ditto Joe Jackson who had the second highest batting average in the history of the major league game. Ditto several others not actually banned but who will apparently be rejected by the writers union: all time home run leader Barry Bonds, best pitcher of his generation Roger Clemens, single season home run leader Mark McGuire, and 42 year old Alex Rodriguez who has 659 home runs and counting after missing two years. Was Bud Selig elected Commissioner or pope? Is this to be the Baseball Hall of Mediocrity?

Without those six, and undoubtedly several more, the Hall will not be what it was intended to be. Belonging to the Ku Klux Klan did not disqualify Tris Speaker, Rogers Hornsby and Ty Cobb who also stabbed a black restaurant waiter with a steak knife for perceived insolence and many others. OTOH, what would the Hall of Fame be without them? Enough, if the Baseball Writers' Guild (those who can will play and those who can't will in some cases wind up as moralizing writers) wants a Hall of the Morally Acceptable, let them erect one but the Hall of Fame is where they guys who played superbly (ALL of them) are enshrined.

15 posted on 04/29/2015 4:33:15 PM PDT by BlackElk (Dean of Discipline: Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Society. Rack 'em Danno!)
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To: BlackElk

The reason why baseball hall is the only HoF that matters, even for all its flaws, is exactly because of things like the examples you list and there not being a mandatory induction number per year. Rose is probably more famous because he is not in than if he went in in his first year of eligibility.

Freegards


16 posted on 04/29/2015 4:57:11 PM PDT by Ransomed
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