Unlike the NFL and NBA Halls of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame includes a "good moral character" clause among the qualifications.
Now, granted, that didn't keep Ty Cobb out. But it did keep Joe Jackson out. And it will keep Pete Rose out.
I lived in Cincinnati, saw Pete come up from the farm, and closely followed his career. But the gambling rule...
Gambling will result in lifetime banishment. This includes association with gamblers and betting on games of which the player is not a participant.
...is prominently posted in every clubhouse and it is one of the manager's assigned jobs to make sure everybody is aware of it and fully understands it. Pete's like the corrupt sheriff who got caught stealing from the county.
Charlie Hustle is gonna join Shoeless Joe as the best players in baseball who aren't in the Hall of Fame. There's a certain eclat to that...but it's not like being in Cooperstown.
Personally, as a long-time baseball fan who (full disclosure) works in the game, you can ask me to forgive Pete. But don't ask me to support his candidacy.
Thanks for laying that out. I went soft there for a minute.
I support Pete for the Hall of Fame...posthumously. Let him in after he has passed. No acceptance speech, but his on the field accomplishments are honored.