[xzins]

Cincy baseball fans are pretty sophisticated.

They separate Pete's playing time from his managing time.

He should make the Hall, they say, for his playing time, but other than that he should be out of baseball because of his managing time when the gambling occurred.

His hits had nothing to do with his later gambling as a manager.

[tomakaze]

Here's something I've got an answer to - Did he bet against his team?

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Andrew Althaus, a Reds season-ticket holder who makes the 280-mile round trip from his home in Bluffton, Ohio, to see every Reds home game, said he considers himself a "baseball traditionalist."

This guy drives 140 miles each way to 81 games a year? "Traditionalist" isn't the first word that leaps to mind.

[beckett]

Fay Vincent savaged Pete Rose last night on Charley Rose and frankly, although I didn't need much convincing, he persuaded me that Selig puts in danger the game of baseball itself if he allows this arrogant cretin to weasel his way into the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose's "confession" is nothing more than a cynical manipulation of credulous baseball fans. He does not apologize in the book, either for his gambling or to the baseball officials who nailed him for his gambling 14 years ago.

So what if he only bet for the Reds? That does not excuse him from he charge of corruption. What signal did he send to the betting community on those days when he did not bet on his team? He was telling them "Hey guys -- my team is weak today for XYZ reasons. Now's the time to bet against us."

Pete Rose, like every other athlete, is more than just his performance on the field during his playing days. He is a seriously flawed, arrogant human being whose actions put the credibility of the game in jeopardy. For that he should be banned from the game forever and denied entry into the Hall of Fame.

[The Raven]

[NYCVirago]

"Nothing can take away from what Pete did on the field. He played for the love of the game and there was nobody better," said Helen Thomas, owner of the Skywalk Baseball card and memorabilia shop on Vine Street downtown. "If you keep him out on the basis of morality, there's a whole lot of people in the Hall of Fame you are going to have to take out."

It figures somebody named Helen Thomas would say something so idiotic.