What's the big deal about getting in? You get a hat or something?
The guy gambled and is unapologetic. Even so, that doesn't take away from his abilities as a player. He was great in the same way that Jim Thorpe was great. They took his olympic medals because he earned some money over a summer playing baseball. He died and the medals were returned. Probably the same will happen with Pete Rose. In 2055, all these old farts will be up on stage teary-eyed saying Rose should have been inducted back in 2005, but better late than ever.
Ok, how about Shoeless Joe Jackson??
The guy gambled and is unapologetic. Even so, that doesn't take away from his abilities as a player. He was great in the same way that Jim Thorpe was great. They took his olympic medals because he earned some money over a summer playing baseball. He died and the medals were returned. Probably the same will happen with Pete Rose. In 2055, all these old farts will be up on stage teary-eyed saying Rose should have been inducted back in 2005, but better late than ever.
There's a difference between Jim Thorpe getting caught in the shifting definition of "professional athelete" in the early decades of the 20th Century and what Rose did.
Rose bet on his team. That's been against baseball regulations for decades. He knew it was against the rules, and he continued to do it anyway. He then lied about it for years and made accusations against the people who found the evidence against him.
Like Watergate, like Lewinsky, like Martha Stewart, it's the lie that gets you. Rose broke baseball's cardinal rule, he lied about breaking the rule, and even when he did start to come clean he did so in order to promote his book and make a buck.
Had he come clean at the start, had he fallen back on the "gambling is a disease" tactic, he'd be in the Hall now. But instead he chose to lie and keep lying.
Ten years ago, Charlie Hustler lied about betting on his team. Now, he says he never bet against his team. How can we ever believe that?
Maybe if Hall of Fame recipients get anything of value, ole Petey could pawn it off to raise funds for his son's legal defense on recent drug charges