Rose Fails to Make Canadian Hall of Fame

AP via Lycos.com ^ | 02/24/2003

[GeneD]

TORONTO (AP) -- Even when he was put on a Hall of Fame ballot, Pete Rose failed to get elected.

Rose missed out on making the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday, falling short of the necessary 75 percent vote from the selection committee.

Baseball's career hits leader, who spent part of the 1984 season with Montreal and got career hit No. 4,000 with the Expos, was among 46 nominees for the Canadian hall.

Former Toronto star Joe Carter, Canadian pitcher Kirk McCaskill, administrator Richard Belec and the Vancouver Asahi team were elected. The hall, which will hold its induction June 28 in St. Marys, did not release the vote totals.

"I think that our selection committee is a microcosm of society," Canadian hall president Tom Valcke said. "I think North America is perched waiting and hoping to forgive Pete Rose. He's just got to fess up. Talk to Bill Clinton, talk to Ben Johnson -- we're a very forgiving continent."

Rose is ineligible for the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., because of his permanent ban from baseball. He agreed to the ban in August 1989 following an investigation of his gambling. Bud Selig and Rose have spoken about possible reinstatement, but the commissioner won't say when or if he will take any action.

Tony Riviera, chairman of the newly formed Canadian Baseball League, nominated Rose for the Canadian hall. Rose's autographed batting gloves used for the historic hit are on display in the museum along with photos.

Rose joined the Expos at the start of the 1984 season and hit .259 with 23 RBIs in 95 games. He played first base and outfield.

Carter hit the ninth-inning homer off Mitch Williams that won Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, giving the Blue Jays their second straight title. The only other player who hit a Series-ending homer was Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski, in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees.

Carter played 1,039 games for Toronto and finished with 396 career homers and 1,445 RBIs.

"The seven years I spent there in Toronto were fabulous," Carter told the Canadian network CTV from Kansas City, Mo. "And to top my whole career off, to be elected to the Canadian Hall of Fame is an honor that I will cherish for the rest of my life."

McCaskill spent 12 years in the majors, playing for California and the Chicago White Sox from 1985 to 1996. He had a career record of 106-108 and is second to Ferguson Jenkins (284) in major league wins by Canadians.

Belec is a longtime official who was president of Baseball Canada from 1994-96. The Asahi club was a Japanese-Canadian team in Vancouver that won several championships before World War II.

Since its inception in 1983, the hall has inducted 58 members, including Jenkins, Jackie Robinson and Gary Carter.